CABINET OFFICE

Chief Information Officer

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the Chief Information Officer will be appointed; what the responsibilities of the post will be; and what its reporting relationship will be to (a) other civil servants and (b) Ministers.

Douglas Alexander: The new Head of e-Government (analogous to a private-sector Chief Information Officer) will be based in the Cabinet Office and will report to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull and Minister for the Cabinet Office.
	The responsibilities of the post were set out in a press notice of 15 December 2003 which can be found at www. cabinet-office.gov.uk/news/2003/031215 headofegovt.asp. I will also place a copy of the notice in the Libraries of the House for the interest of Members.
	The detailed timetable for the recruitment exercise has still to be finalised, but the aim is to complete the selection process by April 2004.

Civil Contingencies

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will take steps to give one co-ordinating body full responsibility for civil contingencies covering all multi-agency aspects.

Douglas Alexander: The Home Secretary has overall charge for UK resilience and chairs the Ministerial Committee responsible for providing co-ordination and oversight covering all multi-agency aspects. Sir David Omand, the Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator, is responsible for the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, and supports the Home Secretary in this work.

Civil Servants

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what research has been carried out since 1997 into the reasons civil servants leave the Civil Service; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: My Department publishes aggregate data on causes for leaving the Civil Service in the annual publication "Civil Service Statistics". Copies are placed in the Library of the House and can be accessed at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics.

Civil Servants

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost of recruitment of civil servants was for each financial year from 1996 to the present, broken down by Department.

Douglas Alexander: Departments have delegated responsibility for almost all recruitment to the Civil Service. The Cabinet Office does not collect centrally the information requested and could only do so at disproportionate cost.

Consultations

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list those individuals and organisations (a) to whom (i) his Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) the non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible sent a copy of the consultations (A) Private action, public benefit: A review of charities and the wider not for profit sector, (B) The future of emergency planning in England and Wales: a discussion document and (C) Towards equality and diversity: implementing the employment and race directives and (b) from whom each received a response in each case.

Douglas Alexander: The Government are committed to ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are identified and involved in consultation exercises.
	The Strategy Unit report "Private Action, Public Benefit" was published on 25 September 2002. More than 1,000 copies were sent to interested parties. A further 300 people were sent e-mail links to the document. The pdf version of the SU report has been downloaded more than 45,000 times from the SU website: www.strategy.gov.uk.
	Following publication of the report, members of the SU project team and the Home Office's Active Community Unit took part in more than 50 consultation events around the country. Copies of the report were also distributed at these events.
	Responses were received from around 1,100 individuals and organisations. A summary of their comments—and the Government's response to the report—are contained in the Home Office document "Charities and Not-for-Profits: A Modern Legal Framework", published in July 2003.
	The following organisations were sent copies of "The future of emergency planning in England and Wales: a discussion document".
	Local Government Association (LGA)
	Local Authorities in England and Wales
	Emergency Planning Society (EPS)
	Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)
	Police Forces in England and Wales
	British Transport Police
	Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association (CACFOA)
	Fire Brigades in England and Wales
	Ambulance Service Association (ASA)
	Ambulance Service in England and Wales
	Health Authorities
	Coroners Offices and Pathology Service
	Northern Ireland Executive
	Scottish Executive
	National Assembly for Wales
	Other Government Departments
	Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
	Environment Agency
	Government Offices for the Regions
	OFWAT
	OFTEL
	OFGEM
	Rail Regulators
	CAA, UK Airlines EP Group and Airports
	Educational Establishments
	The Armed Forces
	Responses were received from interested stakeholder groups, including:
	Local Authorities
	Emergency Services
	Health Bodies
	Utilities
	Transport
	Professional Bodies
	Lobby Groups
	Academic Institutes
	Multi-Agency Groups
	Private Companies
	Individuals
	I have placed a full list of responses in the Libraries of the House.
	"Towards equality and diversity: implementing the employment and race directives" is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Statutory Sick Pay

Paul Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people employed in his Department have claimed statutory sick pay for (a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: It is not possible to obtain this information without incurring disproportionate costs.
	Cabinet Office is committed to managing sick absence effectively. It has in place robust procedures that reflect the recommendations of the 1998 report "Working Well Together—Managing Attendance in the Public Sector". These are supported by comprehensive in-house guidance and training for managers and individuals. The department is making good progress towards its target for reduced sickness absence of 30 per cent. in 2010 compared with 1998 levels.

Strategy Unit Fisheries Report

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost of the Strategy Unit's report on the UK fishing industry was; how many copies of the report will be produced; how many people have worked on the project; and when the report will be made public.

Douglas Alexander: The project is still ongoing. The Strategy Unit's budget for this financial year is £4.7 million, which funds a range of projects and other work.
	The normal print run for Strategy Unit reports is 2,000, though the report and supporting documents will also be on the Strategy Unit website.
	A total of 12 people worked on the project, and six of these were engaged on a full-time basis.
	The report will be published shortly.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Communications Regulation

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what arrangements she has put in place for (a) monitoring and (b) reducing the administrative costs of communications regulation through (i) the running costs of Ofcom and (ii) the compliance costs of business.

Estelle Morris: Parliament has given Ofcom a large degree of financial autonomy appropriate to its independent status. That is normal with sectoral regulators and especially important in media regulation. Nevertheless it is also subject to a number of measures to ensure proper scrutiny of its expenditure, and that its own costs, and the compliance costs of regulated businesses, are no more than necessary to fulfil its statutory duties under the Communications Act 2003.
	Ofcom is required to set its charges in a transparent way and justify them to industry. In exercising all its statutory functions, Ofcom is also required to have due regard, among other things, to the desirability of encouraging investment and innovation, and to the principles of good regulation such as consultation, proportionality and selectivity—all of which are very relevant to compliance costs and overall expenditure. In addition, where it plans to introduce significant new regulation, Ofcom is required to carry out and publish an assessment of the likely impact of the measure, allowing a period for consultation, and to take account of responses to it.
	Furthermore, Ofcom must produce an annual report and accounts (the latter subject to certification and report by the Comptroller and Auditor General) to be laid before Parliament; its activities can be scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee and the relevant departmental Parliamentary Select Committees, and by the National Audit Office; its use of public funds is governed by, among other things, a financial memorandum agreed with the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and for Culture, Media and Sport; and its expenditure is subject to resource 'caps' agreed with HM Treasury.

Lottery

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding Cunninghame, South has received from National Lottery grants in each of the past five years.

Estelle Morris: In the last five years, starting from 1 January 1999, Cunninghame, South has been awarded grants to the value of:
	
		
			  Amount awarded (£) 
		
		
			 1999 1,320,060 
			 2000 195,087 
			 2001 746,145 
			 2002 986,707 
			 2003 1,753,870 
			 Total 5,001,869 
		
	
	These numbers are derived from the Department's database of lottery awards, which is based on information supplied by the distributing bodies.

Lottery

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total sales were for National Lottery tickets in Cunninghame, South, in each of the past five years.

Estelle Morris: The available information is set out in a table prepared by Camelot, listing sales of National Lottery tickets by postcode area since the Lottery's launch, The table was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 9 December 2003 in response to a written parliamentary question from the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Jones) on 18 November 2003, Official Report, column 764.

Lottery

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total sales of National Lottery tickets in (a) Chorley and (b) Lancashire were in each of the past five years.

Estelle Morris: The available information is set out in a table prepared by Camelot, listing sales of National Lottery tickets by postcode area since the Lottery's launch. The table was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 9 December 2003 in response to a written parliamentary question from the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Jones) on 18 November 2003, Official Report, column 764.

Transmitter Mast (Worksop)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the transmitter mast in Worksop will be upgraded so the local residents can receive Freeview.

Estelle Morris: Broadcasters, through contracts with transmission operators, are responsible for maintaining the terrestrial network. But until the analogue signals are turned off, there will not be enough frequencies available to enable all the transmitters to carry digital terrestrial services. We believe that digital switchover could be achieved between 2006 and 2010, subject to our affordability and availability criteria being met, but we can't be more precise at this stage about which transmitters will be converted by any given date.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bangladesh

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research he has commissioned into abuses of human rights in Bangladesh, with particular reference to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Hilary Benn: DFID and the FCO actively monitor human rights in Bangladesh and take account of the concerns of marginalised communities through research related to funding development programmes. HMG and our post in Dhaka are aware of the concerns over the pressure being put on the Ahmadiyyas. The FCO has raised these concerns on several occasions, most importantly through the EU Troika, with senior officials of the Foreign Ministry and with senior MPs of the ruling party. Gareth Thomas, PUSS, raised the issue of Human Rights with the Minister of Foreign Affairs during his visit to Bangladesh in late January.

Iraq

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) aid and (b) compensation is available for residents of Baghdad whose properties were destroyed by American rockets in the war.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	Questions of aid or compensation by other coalition partners are a matter for them.

Tuberculosis

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of UK overseas aid in 2003–04 goes towards combating tuberculosis.

Hilary Benn: The UK plays a major role in combating tuberculosis worldwide through its support for Global Partnerships, such as the Global Fund, and country programmes. Our strategy is to ensure a more coordinated and collaborative international and national effort in TB control. Much of our assistance is given through support to country health sector programmes or as General Budget Support to developing countries. We give significant core contributions to international agencies such as the World Health Organisation, some of which is used to tackle the disease. As a result it is not possible to disaggregate our bilateral expenditure on tuberculosis in the manner requested.

SCOTLAND

Whisky

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his answer of 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 757W, on the whisky industry, what previous meetings he has had with representatives of the Scottish whisky industry; and what representations he has made to the Treasury on the impact of introducing a tax strip for the sector.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues affecting Scotland.
	Aside from the meetings referred to in my answer of 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 757W, Scotland Office, Ministers have had no other formal meetings with representatives of the Scotch whisky industry.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pensions

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to help people make informed choices about their pensions in retirement.

Malcolm Wicks: The recent Command Paper CM6111 "Simplicity, security and choice: Informed Choices for working and saving", published on 3 February 2004, sets out our programme to help people make informed decisions about retirement. The strategy that I have set out is based around three steps—activation, education and information. We are determined to:
	Enable people to make the most of pension provision and encourage availability of the right pension products;
	Raise people's awareness of their options and improve financial education; and Ensure that everyone has high-quality, accurate and timely information.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the effect on expenditure on the basic state pension in each of the next five years of ascribing to all persons below state pension age a full year's national insurance contributions in lieu of their actual contributions in all future years.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is in the table.
	
		£ million
		
			  Additional expenditure onbasic state pension 
		
		
			 2005–06 20 
			 2006–07 50 
			 2007–08 100 
			 2008–09 160 
			 2009–10 220 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The costs for the first few years are shown and are very low because they relate to current public expenditure. The effect on the underlying fiscal position is larger because future public spending liabilities are being increased in respect of people of all ages.
	2. The costs given are the gross costs to the nearest £10 million, in 2003–04 price terms, using 2004 benefit rates.
	3. The costs assume that the first year for which the contributions will be credited is 2004–05.
	4. The costs take into account that men aged 60 to 64 are automatically awarded national insurance credits for those years irrespective of whether they are in work or not. These credits count towards state pension entitlement.

Unemployment Action Teams

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the role of action teams in reducing unemployment.

Des Browne: Action teams are having a positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged people, in some of the most economically deprived areas of the country, and have already been successful in helping nearly 100,000 people into work.
	I would like to thank my hon. Friend for the consistent support he has shown for the action team operating in his constituency, which has helped nearly 1,000 disadvantaged people across North West Wales into work, contributing to the fall in unemployment in his constituency of 41 per cent. since 1997.

Working Tax Credit

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the application of working tax credit to (a) parents with care and (b) absent parents.

Chris Pond: In the new scheme only the non-resident parent's income is taken into account; the parent with care's income is ignored.
	In the old scheme a parent with care who receives working tax credit is treated as having no assessable income.
	Generally speaking, in both schemes, a non-resident parent's working tax credit counts as income. (The exception is where his current partner is the principal earner).

New Deal

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the impact of the new deal for young people on the level of economic inactivity among young people.

Des Browne: We have received a number of representations from hon. Members, through Parliamentary Questions and correspondence.
	I am happy to say that our new deal for young people programme has been hugely successful in helping to virtually eradicate long-term youth unemployment, helping more than 460,000 young people into work, including nearly 400 in the hon. Member's constituency.
	Independent evaluation shows that the new deal has not only helped to increase youth employment, but has also benefited the economy to the tune of £500 million a year.

Pensioners

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners are entitled to means-tested benefits.

Chris Pond: We estimate that around half of all pensioner households across Great Britain are eligible for Pension Credit and other income related benefits and stand to gain on average £400 a year. Our priority is to target money on the poorest pensioners and there are already 1.4 million pensioner households on Pension Credit who are getting more money than they did before.
	The way we are assessing pensioners' incomes in Pension Credit is vastly different from the stigmatising weekly means tests of the past. We want all those pensioners who are eligible to apply for their entitlement. It would be a great shame if the phrase 'means-test' was allowed to get in the way of pensioners applying for what is rightfully theirs.

Departmental Files (Security)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to enhance the security of files in departmental file stores.

Des Browne: Currently, satisfactory arrangements are in place to ensure the security of files in DWP file stores operated by both departmental staff and our external supplier. The future contractual arrangements for delivery of this service, which we expect to announce soon, will take full account of the need to maintain security of information and the physical security of departmental files. We will closely manage and monitor the new contract to ensure that this remains the case.

Departmental Leaflets

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria his Department uses when deciding whether a leaflet which it publishes is to be made available only on its website.

Des Browne: The Department for Work and Pensions does not produce any leaflets or other publications in web-only format at present.

Departmental Staff

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many permanent staff have left and not been replaced in his Department's offices in (a) Portsmouth, (b) Southampton and (c) the Isle of Wight in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			   2001–02(1)  2002–03(1)  2003 to date(2) 
			  Staff leaving Staff recruited Staff leaving Staff recruited Staff leaving Staff recruited 
		
		
			 Portsmouth 24 34 52 35 34 3 
			 Southampton 20 32 40 17 40 11 
			 Isle of Wight 4 46 14 34 8 14 
		
	
	(1) 2001–02 and 2002–03 figures are from 1 April to 31 March.
	(2) 2003 figures are from 1 April to 30 November.
	Note:
	Figures are for Jobcentre Plus, The Pension Service, Child Support Agency and Corporate Centre staff based in the offices in question.
	Source:
	FAMIS/Rebus data extracts

Housing Benefit Department (Swale)

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional resources he will offer to resolve the on-going problems in the housing benefit department at Swale Borough Council.

Chris Pond: The Government are investing £200 million over this and the next two financial years to help local authorities make improvements in their administration of housing benefit. Swale Borough Council has been awarded funding for a training officer post, and we will be pleased to consider additional bids from the council.
	In addition, and in recognition of the problems experienced by Swale Borough Council the Department has provided free consultancy assistance from its Help Team.
	The Help Team worked with the council for six weeks during the period 29 September 2003 to 12 December 2003. During that time assistance was provided to the council in the development of a project plan to clear its backlog of outstanding benefits work. In addition, work was also undertaken on the introduction of a communications strategy, a review of existing policies and procedures plus a review of how benefits work and staff are organised.
	Work in all these areas is continuing and is being regularly monitored by the Help Team. The results of this monitoring show that the council has made good progress in clearing its backlog of work and is currently ahead of its target for full clearance.

Post Office Accounts

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress in moving manual pension payments to direct payment, with particular reference to Post Office accounts.

Chris Pond: The overall move to direct payment is progressing well.
	The conversion process, from manual payments to payments credited directly in to bank accounts, started with invitation letters being sent to some customers in October 2002 and involves contacting approximately 14.25 million customers. We have already written to 8 million customers and so far over 3.5 million have provided their bank account details, and over 2 million have requested a Post Office card account.
	Key figures on the progress of conversion to direct payment are available in the Library, updated every four weeks.

Winter Fuel Payment

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners entitled to the winter fuel payment in (a) Norfolk and (b) Great Britain had received the payment by (i) 1 January and (ii) 20 January; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: It is not possible to provide payment figures separately for Norfolk. Neither can we provide an estimate of the percentage of eligible people in receipt of a winter fuel payment using DWP administrative data because we do not have complete information on household circumstances and payments are based on household composition.
	By 1 January 11,570,389 winter fuel payments had been made in Great Britain for winter 2003–04. This figure had not changed at 20 January.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Cod

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effect of the extension piece on a demersal trawl on the selectivity of the cod end.

Ben Bradshaw: Under the 2001 Fishing Industry/Science partnership funded by SEERAD, trials were carried out with a pair seine team to assess the effect of very long extensions on catch composition. Two cases were investigated using the alternate haul method; one with an extension of 200 meshes, the other of 500 meshes long. No significant differences were found in the catches or discards for haddock or whiting. No significant amounts of juvenile cod were retained.

Departmental Publications

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria her Department uses when deciding whether a leaflet which it publishes is to be made available only on its website.

Alun Michael: Leaflets and other printed material are normally made available in electronic form via Defra's website, at the same time as they are published or circulated. Where documents are only published via the website (and not in printed form), this is based on an assessment of factors such as the audience for the document, the nature of the material and its anticipated lifetime, whether speed of distribution electronically is particularly important, and cost-efficiency issues.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of whether the behaviour of fish species is constant, with particular reference to escape strategies when confronted with a towed trawl.

Ben Bradshaw: Fish reaction depends on the fish species, individual physiology, swimming capacity and condition. Throughout the capture process, the density of fish will be important in determining the reaction of individual fish. The environmental conditions such as temperature, light conditions and seabed type will also have an effect. Fishing gear will also influence fish reaction, mainly through the visual stimuli it creates relative to the background. These fundamental mechanisms of fish reaction may be relatively constant whereas individual reactions will be determined entirely by the particular circumstances to which a fish is subjected at any given moment.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where the primary (a) sandeel, (b) cod and (c) haddock fisheries in the North Sea are.

Ben Bradshaw: Sandeel fishing occurs on grounds where sediment type and oceanography facilitate high concentrations of sandeels. These grounds mainly occur on the western edge of the Dogger Bank, and around the Fisher Bank. A sandeel fishing area off the Firth of Forth is currently closed.
	Cod fishing is more widespread. It occurs in the Southern Bight from the eastern Channel to the Dutch coast, off north east coast England from the Humber to Tyne, in part of the German Bight, and in a wide arc from the Skagerrak along the edge of the Norwegian trench to the northern North Sea and the waters east and west of Orkney and Shetland.
	Haddock fishing is also widespread, from the Skagerrak to a large part of the northern North Sea, down the western side of the North Sea from Shetland and Orkney to the east coast of Scotland, as far as north east England. Haddock are sparse south of the Dogger Bank.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the significance is of the catch per unit effort index; and what part it plays in estimating fish stocks.

Ben Bradshaw: Catch per unit of fishing effort is an index that is approximately proportional to the abundance of the fishable stock. A time series of such data could describe stock trends, provided that the index is representative of the whole stock, and is not biased by year to year changes in vessel efficiency, selectivity, or fishing strategy. Such bias can affect the catch per effort of commercial vessels, whereas the index derived from research surveys that fish standard stations using a standard gear year on year is not affected in this way, and is therefore more suitable for tuning ICES stock assessments.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what techniques are available to fishermen to (a) minimise the catch of juvenile fish and (b) maximise the size of fish caught in demersal trawls.

Ben Bradshaw: For optimal stock exploitation each species needs to be caught at a particular size and age, dependent mainly on its growth rate and maturity. The exploitation rate for each species is determined by the design of the gear used to fish it as well as the effort exerted on the stock. Technical Conservation Measures regulating the design of gear are the main method of limiting the catch of juvenile fish. Such controls are imposed by limits on codend mesh size and twine size, the number of open meshes around the codend circumference, the use of lifting bags, the length of extension and the use of attachments. Also selective devices such as square mesh panels and grids may be mandatory.
	Limits on the capture of larger fish are imposed by restrictions on effort or quotas. It is not necessarily optimal to take the largest fish from the sea as these may be the most successful reproductively.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) visual and (b) aural devices attached to trawls to improve the selectivity of fishing in demersal fisheries;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the relative importance of (a) aural and (b) visual triggers in the escape responses of ground fish in relation to the approach of a towed trawl.

Ben Bradshaw: Since the 1950s, studies have shown that vision is very important in determining fish reaction to gears at all stages of the capture process. A variety of experiments have been carried out at the FRS Marine Laboratory, for example on horizontal panels to separate species within a trawl or the use of different coloured twine in escape panels. These studies suggest that when used appropriately, and under certain circumstances (i.e. where light levels are sufficient for the fish to react) such visual devices can subtly improve selectivity. A review is currently being compiled through the ICES Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour Working Group of the reactions and behaviour of fish to visual components of fishing gears and the effect on catchability in survey and commercial fishing gears.
	Reactions of fish to aural stimuli are less clear although it is thought that,when they hear threatening sounds, fish adopt a state of heightened awareness such that they may be more ready to react to subsequent visual cues. There has been little research on the use of aural devices to improve selectivity.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessments her Department has made of the effectiveness of turned-mesh netting in (a) improving the escape rate of juvenile fish and (b) reducing the attendant mortality; and what the operational disadvantages are of such netting.

Ben Bradshaw: Turned mesh netting is standard diamond mesh turned through 90o. Because of the way the twine is knotted, turned meshes tend to remain wider open when under longitudinal tension than standard meshes. Knot slippage and mesh distortion may occur but these problems might be overcome by heat setting the knots or using double knots. Experiments in the Baltic have suggested that selectivity is improved when using turned mesh netting, i.e. more juvenile fish escape. No long-term trials have been carried out in the North Sea on these options although Seafish Industry Authority are planning trials in 2004 on the use of turned mesh in prawn trawl codends.
	In April 2004, an ICES Working Group will examine all the recent experimental data from the Baltic on turned mesh selectivity to assess the effect of this netting type. The findings will be published. No information is available on the mortality of escapees from such netting.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effect of (a) square knotless netting and (b) knotted diamond-mesh netting used for escape panels on (i) different species, (ii) the proportion of escapees and (iii) the mortality of escapees.

Ben Bradshaw: Square mesh netting is often used in escape panels because diamond mesh netting closes under tension. Diamond mesh netting can be used as square mesh netting by turning it through 45°. However, in these circumstances the knots in knotted netting are liable to slip unless specially treated, leading to distortion of the meshes. Certain types of knotless netting have been found to be more stable. Legislation allows either knotted or knotless netting as long as knot slippage does not occur. No information is available comparing the selective properties or the resulting escape mortality of these two netting types used in escape panels.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what facilities exist in the United Kingdom for flume-tank testing of trawl designs to improve the selectivity of fishing; and what facilities exist in (a) Europe and (b) the USA for this purpose.

Ben Bradshaw: At their Fisheries Development Centre in Hull the Seafish Industry Authority operate the only flume tank in the UK. Similar flume tanks exist in Hirtshals (Denmark), Lorient and Boulogne (France) and St. Johns (Canada). Trawl designs can be tested at towing tank facilities at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA).

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evaluation her Department has made of the suitability of Baltic panels of (a) Danish and (b) Swedish design in North Sea fisheries.

Ben Bradshaw: A sub-group of the ICES Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour reported on the selectivity of these Baltic panels in comparison with standard diamond mesh codends in 1995 and 1996. A comprehensive study of the selectivity of these devices was also conducted as part of the EU-funded 'Bacoma' project and published in 2000. It was found that selectivity for cod was better when the panels were placed in the top panel of the codend. A later joint UK and Danish project was funded by the EU to compare the selective performance of both side and top panels in North Sea fisheries. Cod and haddock selectivity was either as good or better with the top panels.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what she estimates the (a) minimum and (b) expected cod by-catch would be from vessels operating in mixed cod and haddock fisheries, using selective gear (i) designed and (ii) adapted to minimise the cod catch.

Ben Bradshaw: A range of designs of selective gear could be used to reduce the cod catch in mixed cod and haddock fisheries. The choice of design will depend on the mix of species on the grounds, the species targeted by the fishermen and practical issues such as ease of handling. Seldom are only cod and haddock caught. A fisherman will choose a design that is practical and gives him an economic return in terms of catch composition for his particular market. In each fishery (e.g. English, Irish, Scottish, Danish, French or Norwegian) fishermen will make different choices of gear design.
	An EU-funded project (Recovery) involving most countries bordering the North Sea is currently developing such gears for several mixed species fisheries in the North Sea (Scottish whitefish, Danish whitefish, English Nephrops and Netherlands/Belgian beam trawl fisheries). The industries in each country are involved closely in these projects through industry liaison groups.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect oil and gas (a) rigs and (b) pipelines in the North Sea have on the distribution of (i) cod and (ii) other demersal species.

Ben Bradshaw: Cod, other gadoid fish, and some shellfish, appear to be attracted to pipelines, thus creating higher density aggregations that attract fishermen. Cod may also be attracted to the vicinity of rigs, from which fishermen are excluded.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has commissioned studies to determine the significance of differences in catch ability between (a) survey trawl gear and (b) commercial trawl gear, with particular reference to catches of monkfish.

Ben Bradshaw: Studies to determine the significance of differences between survey trawl gear and commercial trawl gear have not been commissioned as these gears are used for different purposes.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the (a) development and (b) testing of the Eurogrid project; what findings have been released; and what the cost is of the United Kingdom contribution to this project.

Ben Bradshaw: A whitefish grid system, the Eurogrid, suitable for use on board most North Sea trawlers for demersal towed gear fisheries has been developed and tested. The grid is made of polyamide, a material selected for high elasticity and strength.
	To investigate the selective properties of the Eurogrid, experiments were conducted onboard commercial fishing vessels in all five participating countries (Denmark, France, Norway, Scotland and Sweden). The experiments covered four different species (cod, haddock, whiting, saithe) and five different bar distances. Efforts were made to determine the effective selectivity of the compound gear, consisting of both grid and codend combined, as well as individual components.
	The large variability of vessel and gear sizes, deck layout and gear handling methods between individual national fleets necessitated the use of different experimental designs for measuring selectivity. These differences meant that no final conclusions could be drawn as to the selective properties of the Eurogrid compared to a standard 100 mm diamond meshed codend. However, the results indicate that they are similar to those of other sorting grids used in bottom trawl.
	The user-friendliness of the Eurogrid (the low weight, flexibility and ability to be wound around a net drum) makes this a good option in fisheries where grids may be made mandatory. Alternatively it could be used on a voluntary basis. To accompany the final report an installation manual explaining to each fishing industry how the grid is fitted into the gear is available in each of the five languages, together with a short videotape describing the project. In the UK the final design of Eurogrid was featured on the Fisheries Research Services (Marine Laboratory) stand at Fishing 2003 in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow. A paper summarising the final report is currently being prepared for a refereed scientific publication.
	The United Kingdom contributed a total of £323,212 to this project, but this was offset by income of £190,000 from the EU under the 5th Framework programme of research.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from (a) fishermen and (b) their representatives on the accuracy of scientific assessments of the levels of fish stocks; and what assessment she has made of alternative modelling paradigms from non-International Council for the Exploration of the Sea sources.

Ben Bradshaw: Some claim that the assessment methods underestimate the amount of fish in depleted stocks subject to recovery plans, although some also appear to accept the results of the same methods applied to stocks that are either stable or increasing. An alternative 'paradigm', which is not about stock assessment but about how stocks should be managed, has been considered, but we do not accept that in the ocean the remedy to over-fishing is to fish even harder.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether cod migration occurs from the North Sea to the Atlantic fisheries; and whether migration is increased by inter-species competition and pressure on food supplies.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no scientific evidence that cod move out into the Atlantic fishing areas, or that migrations have been affected by food availability or inter-specific competition.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the factors that determine whether a fish species will predate on its own spawn; and what measures can be taken to avoid this in commercial fisheries.

Ben Bradshaw: Some species eat the eggs of other fish species, but the literature provides no evidence from around the UK that self-predation of spawn is a significant factor affecting commercial marine species with pelagic eggs.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence her Department has collated on migration of cod stocks (a) to and (b) from the North Sea, and (i) to and (ii) from International Council for the Exploration of the Seas areas IVa and IVb; and what assessment she has made of whether all cod stocks exhibit similar migration patterns.

Ben Bradshaw: Tagging experiments have demonstrated that mature cod aggregate in numerous parts of the North Sea during the winter spawning season, and disperse later to occupy more widely distributed feeding grounds in summer. Most cod stocks exhibit broadly similar annual movement patterns, but their distance and complexity differ considerably between stocks.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers Fisheries Regional Advisory Committees will have (a) to decide on the regional total allowable catches for their areas and (b) to designate technical conservation measures; and what enforcement powers they will have.

Ben Bradshaw: Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) will be advisory bodies and will not at the outset have the power to take management decisions. Nevertheless, they will develop and prove themselves over time. Subject to a review, the role of RACs may strengthen in the future, but any extension of their powers would need to be agreed by Council on the basis of a Commission proposal.

Fisheries

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risk to porpoises in UK waters from fixed seabed fishing nets; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We have carried out extensive research into the by-catch of harbour porpoises in set net fisheries. This research is set our in detail in the UK Small Cetacean By-catch Response Strategy published last year along with recommendations for action to reduce by-catch in these fisheries. I hope to make an announcement shortly on the implementation of this strategy.
	However, to be effective, action to address the by-catch problem is required on the part of all EU member states involved in the fisheries concerned, not just the UK. Discussions are currently taking place on European Commission proposals to protect dolphins and porpoises from injury or death in fishing gear.

Fisheries

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the European Commission and (b) her European Union counterparts on the protection of dolphins from by-catch by trawler nets; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The importance of reducing dolphin and other small cetacean by-catch has been raised by the UK at ministerial level with the Fisheries Commissioner on a number of occasions and bilaterally with France. In particular, the UK has pressed for the introduction of a observer programme across the EU to broaden the information available about which fisheries, and which vessels, are involved in the dolphin by-catch problem.
	The Commission published, on 24 July 2003, a draft Council regulation concerning the incidental by-catch of cetaceans in fisheries. Discussions on this proposal are currently under way at official level.
	Defra is also continuing to fund work on the deployment of a separator grid to reduce dolphin by-catch in the offshore pair trawl fishery for bass. These trials have demonstrated that separator grids could provide the means to minimise dolphin by-catch in this fishery and the results of this research are being shared with European colleagues.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many salt water fisheries survey vessels, operating in home waters, carry out work for or on behalf of her Department.

Ben Bradshaw: CEFAS Lowestoft uses two salt water research vessels for fish stock surveys. In addition, under the devolved administrations, stock surveys are carried out by two salt water research vessels in Scotland (SEERAD/FRS), and one research vessel in Northern Ireland (DARDNI). The work of the various vessels is co-ordinated nationally and internationally.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on fisheries survey vessels carrying out work for or on behalf of her Department in each of the last five financial years.

Ben Bradshaw: The costs of the sea-days used for the several regional surveys of fish stocks carried out by the CEFAS Lowestoft research vessels were as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £ million 
		
		
			 1998–99 1.09 
			 1999–2000 1.02 
			 2000–01 1.25 
			 2001–02 1.73 
			 2000–03 1.51 
		
	
	This does not include the cost of other sea-going studies by CEFAS vessels.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the implications are of fish categorised as grey fish being landed for the (a) accuracy of catch landing data and (b) estimation of fish stocks.

Ben Bradshaw: Landings are an important factor in calculating fish mortality (the amount of fish taken from the sea) which forms an integral part of stock assessment.
	The amount of fish discarded at sea is another factor. The quality of data will impact on forecasting certainty and scientific advice on the state of fish stocks. It does not follow however that higher than recorded landings mean that individual fish stocks are in a healthier state.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the amount by which it would be safe to increase haddock quotas in (a) tonnage and (b) percentage terms above 2003 levels in ICES areas IVa and IVb if other fish stocks were disregarded.

Ben Bradshaw: For this stock, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) expresses the single species exploitation boundary as the precautionary level of fishing effort (Fpa). ICES did not make a specific forecast for 2004 because of the difficulty of estimating the biomass levels due to uncertainty about recent landings data. It would not, in any case, be safe to disregard other fish stocks in setting haddock quotas.

Nuclear Power Stations

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the impact of coastal erosion on the safety of coastally-sited nuclear power stations; and if she will make a statement on the (a) cost and (b) effectiveness of measures being taken in relation to this issue.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The Health and safety Executive (HSE) license all nuclear power stations under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965. Flood risks, which are enhanced by coastal erosion, are one category of external hazards that HSE require to be addressed in safety cases for nuclear plant.
	Safety cases are prepared by the plant operator. They are scrutinised and then reviewed periodically (at intervals not greater than 10 years) by HSE. This provides an opportunity to ensure that operators are updating their predictions. The cost of HSE reviewing safety cases is recovered from the industry.
	The Office of Science and Technology (OST) is currently performing a major study on the future of flooding and coastal erosion as part of its Foresight programme. The study is looking 30–100 years ahead and is considering the drivers of future risks from flooding and coastal erosion; the magnitude of those risks if existing policies remain unchanged; and possible policy choices which could mitigate future risks.
	The project has evaluated future erosion rates and has found that these are likely to increase in many parts of the UK, although the changes will be very location specific, and are likely to be extremely variable. The project has noted that major assets and infrastructure, including certain nuclear power stations, are on stretches of the coast where the increased erosion could be substantial. However the precise change in risk of such coastal assets will be very dependant on the details of the location. Such analysis is beyond the scope of the project. The Foresight project is due to report its findings in April 2004.

Rural White Paper

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress her Department has made in implementing the Rural White Paper.

Alun Michael: The recent review of progress on implementation shows that considerable progress has been made on the programme set out in the Rural White Paper. The creation of Defra, with a clear remit for rural policy, and a Cabinet Committee on Rural regeneration has strengthened the rural agenda significantly.
	Copies of the recent White Paper Review are available in the Library of the House. It show that the vision continues to command widespread support. Evidence from our Rural Research Centre—established by Defra and led by Birkbeck College—provides a clean and firm basis for refreshing our rural policy.
	Progress in delivering the commitments in the Rural White Paper is set out at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/ruralwp/timetable.htm. The present plan shows progress to 31 August 2003. An updated plan showing progress to 31 December 2003 will shortly be on the Defra website at the same address.
	Details of the Rural White Paper Review can be seen at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/rwpreview/default.htm
	Further information about the Rural Research Centre is available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2004/ruralwhite-0104.htm

Scottish White Fish Fleet

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what measures may be taken, in terms of gear design, to enhance selectivity when fishing in a mixed white fish fishery to (a) optimise the haddock catch, and (b) minimise the cod by-catch;
	(2)  what escape strategy is adopted by (a) cod and (b) haddock in the North Sea grounds when confronted by a trawl net;
	(3)  what technical measures, in terms of fishing gear design and operating procedures, can be applied to minimise cod by-catch in prawn fisheries;
	(4)  what assessment her Department has made of raised footrope trawls as a means of reducing cod by-catch in mixed fisheries where the target species is haddock.

Ben Bradshaw: Considerable research is going on in Europe to find solutions to the mixed fishery problem. Depending on the season and area, species such as cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, flatfish and Nephrops can be caught at the same time. In the waters round the UK, different solutions in terms of gear design may be required in Scottish, Irish, English or Danish fisheries, depending on the species present and their commercial importance to the fishermen.
	Observations of fish reactions in and around trawls by research scientists have shown that there are species specific behaviours and characteristics which may provide mechanisms for separation or exclusion. Haddock and, to a lesser extent, whiting tend to rise in the mouth of a trawl as they tire. Cod, flatfish, monkfish and Nephrops keep low. Raising the footrope of the trawl or the use of semi-pelagic fishing gear may allow cod to escape under the net but other species may also be lost.
	The European Commission is currently funding two major research projects which aim to find solutions in mixed whitefish fisheries and in mixed whitefish/Nep/irops fisheries in the North Sea and Irish Sea. A key feature of this work is the close collaboration between fishermen's organisations, commercial skippers, netmakers and the UK fisheries institutes. The aim is to create solutions to these complex problems which are effective, practical, enforceable and acceptable to fishermen.

Sudden Oak Death

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to ensure that plant and timber imports are free from sudden oak death.

Ben Bradshaw: The Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1320, as amended) sets out the controls on the import, movement and keeping of plants within the EU. The Order requires all plants entering the UK from third countries to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate and are subject to inspection at import. For trade within the EU, specific disease control measures are applied at the place of production and plant passports may be issued that travel with consignments allowing their free movement between member states. From May 2002 measures to control the movement of plants susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum into and within the UK where introduced under the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) Order 2002. Following the agreement of community wide measures this Order was superseded in November 2002, by the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) (No. 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2573). The latter applied specific disease control measures at the place of production to rhododendrons and viburnums, the two types of plant which have been most often found to be infected in Europe.
	Findings of Phytophthora ramorum in imported and UK origin plants are of concern and inspections at UK nurseries and ports of entry are to be stepped up to ensure that all consignments of plants moved into and within the UK are free from Phytophthora ramorum and meet plant passport requirements. Any consignment found to be infected, or not to have the correct documentation, will, as now, be destroyed.
	The regulations controlling imports of wood and wood products are set out in the Plant Health (Forestry) (Great Britain) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1283, as amended). These require that imports of wood of oak from North American countries are treated to protect against, in particular, another fungal organism Ceratocystis fagacearum, the cause of Oak wilt disease. The Forestry Commission concluded that these controls are effective against Phytophthora ramorum but that they needed to be extended to bring under regulation wood from other trees that are known to host this pathogen and which originate in the USA. The Forestry Commissioners therefore implemented emergency measures in June 2002 by way of the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (Great Britain) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 1478). This Order was superseded in November 2002, to implement the European Community measures against Phytophthora ramorum, by the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (Great Britain) (No. 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2589).
	The Forestry Commission enforces the controls on wood and wood products through its system of import inspections carried out at ports of entry.

Sudden Oak Death

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) businesses, (b) landowners and (c) others have had all or some of their plant or tree stocks destroyed as a result of an outbreak of sudden oak death in the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: To categorise businesses, landowners and others would be misleading as there may be a cross over in some areas. For example a private landowner may also open their property to the public as a business. In the last two years, there have been 302 outbreak premises in England and Wales, 263 at nurseries and other retail outlets and 39 at established gardens, woods and other wild planting areas. All those on whom notices have been served have destroyed infected material. Others have done so voluntarily.

Sudden Oak Death

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many claims, and of what total value, her Department has received for compensation for outbreaks of sudden oak death from (a) commercial nurseries, (b) landowners and (c) others in each of the last 24 months for which records are available;
	(2)  how many claims for compensation for sudden oak death have been settled; and what payments have been made during the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: Only one claim for compensation as been received in respect of destroyed stock following the finding of "Phytophthora ramorum" at a commercial nursery. We are unable to disclose precise details of this claim for legal reasons, but we can confirm this claim is still under consideration. Plant disease campaigns over many years have not incorporated compensation for the destruction of affected plants. Our position has been that the limited resources of the plant health service are better deployed in detecting and identifying outbreaks, and in carrying out research on risks and risk management measures. However, we have recently received an approach from industry organisations wishing to discuss possible risk-sharing mechanisms to avoid disproportionate losses to individual enterprises when action has to be taken against plant pests or diseases. We welcome this opportunity to explore the available options. The outcome of these ongoing discussions could have an effect on any individual claims we receive.

Sudden Oak Death

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) staff and (b) resources of (i) the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate and (ii) other departmental bodies are deployed to detect and control outbreaks of sudden oak death in the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra's 75 Plant Health and Seeds Inspectors are already employed for about 20 per cent. of their time on inspection and surveillance duties related to Phytophthora ramorum, known in the USA as sudden oak death. Therefore, although there is no specific budget allocation, this amounts to an expenditure of approximately £1.8 million in 2003–04.
	In response to the growing number of findings of this pathogen in England and Wales, Defra is redeploying around 20 additional staff to assist the Inspectorate in undertaking extra inspections at production nurseries, wild areas and ports of entry. They will be supplemented by the recruitment of six additional full-time Inspectors for 2004–2005. This is part of a package of measures announced on 4 December.
	Defra is also funding a substantial increase in sample diagnoses undertaken by the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), an executive agency of Defra, which is estimated to cost in excess of £750,000 to the end of 2004–2005. CSL is also involved in ongoing research into "Phytophthora ramorum" to the value of £370,000.
	The Forestry Commission (FC) has redirected about 23 staff onto a woodland survey in England and Wales, to be completed by April 2004, which will help us to assess whether Phytophthora ramorum is present in the wider environment. FC will be contributing £50,000 to CSL to fund diagnostics in support of this survey. Resources have also been redirected within the Forest Research Agency (FRA) into projects designed to help us better understand the disease. From January 2004 FRA is responsible for the co-ordination of an EU funded research project on "P. ramorum".
	In the devolved administrations the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) 5 Plant Health Inspectors already spend approximately 20–25 per cent. of their time on "Phytophthora ramorum" inspection and sampling duties. From January 2004 this team has been brought up to complement with a newly trained inspector. Although there is no specific budget dedicated to Phytophthora ramorum inspections, the total amount to an expenditure for 2003–04 is approximately £90,000.
	Seven Forestry Officers have been trained and, from January 2004, are spending approximately 10 per cent. of their time on Phytopthora. ramorum inspection and sampling work, primarily on DARD Forestry Service and private woodland sites with a budget of approximately £65,000. In addition, a Principal Scientific Officer is spending approximately 25 per cent. of his time in analysing samples for "P. ramorum". The budget for this work is approximately £50,000.
	For 2003–04 the number of Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department staff spending part of their time on detection and control of "Phytophthora ramorum" is seven, including one scientific officer. The total management plan resource employed in this work for 2003–04, to date, is £37,626.

Sudden Oak Death

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent measures her Department has taken to ensure that plants and seeds infected with sudden oak death are not imported into the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: The Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1320, as amended) sets out the controls on the import, movement and keeping of plants within the EU. The Order requires all plants entering the UK from third countries to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate and are subject to inspection at import. For trade within the EU, specific disease control measures are applied at the place of production and plant passports may be issued that travel with consignments allowing their free movement between member states. From May 2002 measures to control the movement of plants susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum into and within the UK where introduced under the Plant Health "(Phytophthora ramorum)" (England) Order 2002. Following the agreement of community wide measures this Order was superseded in November 2002, by the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) (No. 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2573). The latter applied specific disease control measures at the place of production to rhododendrons and viburnums, the two types of plant which have been most often found to be infected in Europe.
	Findings of "Phytophthora ramorum" in imported and UK origin plants are of concern and inspections at UK nurseries and ports of entry are to be stepped up to ensure that all consignments of plants moved into and within the UK are free from Phytophthora ramorum and meet plant passport requirements. Any consignment found to be infected, or not to have the correct documentation, will, as now, be destroyed.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has received a copy of the joint report by Greenpeace and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, entitled The Net Effect.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has received a copy of the joint report "The Net Effect". I share Greenpeace and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society concern about the levels of cetacean bycatch in fisheries. Indeed we have carried out extensive research into this issue and produced a UK strategy for the reduction of small cetacean bycatch.
	Meaningful action to address the bycatch problem requires action on the part of all EU Member States involved in the fisheries concerned, not just the UK. Discussions are currently taking place on European Commission proposals to protect dolphins and small cetaceans from injury or death in fishing gear.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cote d'Ivoire

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to assist the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The UK fully supports the Linas Marcoussis Agreement (LMA) as the basis for sustainable peace in Côte d'Ivoire. Our engagement has included £4 million to help fund regional peacekeepers and £800,000 in humanitarian aid. We welcome the progress made in the peace process since December 2003. We continue to urge all parties to proceed quickly with full implementation of the LMA, including the programme of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. We are supporting the early deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation to Côte d'Ivoire to assist this.

Ethiopia

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made in the last 12 months of human rights in Ethiopia.

Chris Mullin: We continue to have concerns about the human rights situation in Ethiopia. In the Memorandum of Understanding we signed with Ethiopia in January 2003, the Government of Ethiopia made a commitment to protect the full range of human rights including economic and social rights of all Ethiopians, especially the poor. We are assisting the implementation of this commitment through our support for Ethiopia's poverty reduction strategy and through regular dialogue with the Ethiopian Government, as well as carefully monitoring their performance.

EU Enlargement

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 27 January 2004, Official Report, column 148, if the Government will introduce a seven-year transition period for the free movement of workers from countries joining the EU on 1 May 2004.

Denis MacShane: The Government's policy on free movement of workers after accession of the new member states on 1 May 2004 remains as set out in my answer of 27 January 2004.
	The Government will be monitoring the effect of the free movement of workers on the UK labour market and in the unexpected event of a large influx of workers to the UK, which threatens the level of employment or standard of living in a particular region or occupation, it would re-impose restrictions on workers.

Iran

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of (a) injuries and (b) deaths which occurred among the population of Shahr-e Babak in the southern province of Kerman in Iran in January as a result of police and military action; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Iran's official media have reported that four people were killed and 40 were injured on 24 January in clashes between law enforcement forces and striking workers at a copper factory in Shahr-e Babak. President Khatemi is reported to have ordered an investigation.
	We are following the situation closely.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Sir Jeremy Greenstock will attend the planned meeting between the Iraqi Government Council and United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on 19 January 2004.

Bill Rammell: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the late response. Sir Jeremy Greenstock did attend.

Iraq

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the highest possible level of Kurdish independence and self-determination within a federal administration for Iraq.

Bill Rammell: The Government are committed to maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq. The Government have no preferred model of federalism in Iraq. These are issues that the Iraqis need to decide among themselves during the constitutional convention scheduled for 2005.

Publicity Campaigns

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on (a) advertising and publicity and (b) information campaigns in 2001–02.

Chris Mullin: To provide a breakdown on spend for advertising and publicity, and information campaigns in the form requested would incur disproportionate costs. However, the total spend on all three activities in 2001–02 was £2,558,570. The major part of these costs was for generic publications, which were made available to all Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departments and overseas posts.
	In addition, the spend on recruitment advertising for 2001–02 was £2,791,659.

Somaliland

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to encourage the EU to recognise the Republic of Somaliland.

Chris Mullin: We have no immediate plans to encourage the EU to recognise an independent Somaliland.

Somaliland

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to encourage the United Nations to assist in settling the disagreement between the state of Somaliland and the territory of Puntland concerning Las Anod.

Chris Mullin: I share the hon. Member's concern about recent hostilities between Somaliland and Puntland and registered my anxieties with Somaliland foreign affairs spokesperson Edna Adan when I met her in Addis Ababa on 19 January. I understand that the two sides have drawn back and the traditional leaders and elders in the area are working hard to find a peaceful settlement. We see no need for UN intervention.

Somaliland

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to provide assistance for parliamentary elections in the Republic of Somaliland.

Chris Mullin: Yes. We stand ready to provide support to the parliamentary elections in Somaliland. We hope these will take place soon and make this point regularly to the Somaliland authorities.

Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the (a) Chinese Foreign Minister and (b) Chinese ambassador to the Court of St. James's in connection with the imprisonment of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche.

Bill Rammell: I raised the case with Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in Beijing on 17 December 2003. He replied that Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche had had a fair and public trial and been sentenced in accordance with Chinese law.
	The latest EU demarche took place in Beijing on 4 February. In response, Mr. Wang Min, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Organisations and Conferences at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche was in good health and being held in Tuandong prison, Sichuan province.
	We have raised Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's case with the Chinese authorities on a number of occasions, including in our bilateral human rights dialogue and through the EU. We have raised concerns about both his welfare and his medical treatment on other occasions.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Acquired Brain Injury

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to provide central funding for community-based training and rehabilitation for people with acquired brain injury in Northern Ireland after the Department of Employment and Learning ceases to provide further funding for the ReConnect training facility; and what alternative plans he has for funding this service.

Jane Kennedy: The Department for Employment and Learning and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety are currently considering the implications of the failure of ReConnect to win ESF funding for its work. As part of this process of consideration they will explore how best the training and rehabilitation needs of this client group can be met, in the longer term.

Acquired Brain Injury

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Government Department is responsible for the provision of community-based training and rehabilitation of those with acquired brain injury in Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: The Department for Employment and Learning is responsible for the provision of support for individuals with acquired brain injury to help them re-enter the labour market. This includes the provision of appropriate vocational training.
	The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is responsible for the provision of rehabilitation for people with a brain injury where this is required to meet assessed clinical or social need. This includes intensive in-patient rehabilitation and community-based social rehabilitation covering such areas as social and daily living skills.

Draft European Constitution

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Minister for Europe on the Draft Constitution for the European Union and its impact on Northern Ireland.

Ian Pearson: I am a member of the Joint Ministerial Committee on the European Union, which is chaired by the Foreign Secretary and of which the Minister for Europe is also a member. The Draft Constitutional Treaty on the European Union has been discussed at previous meetings of the Committee.
	Northern Ireland's position on European issues will continue to be represented through the appropriate channels at both official and ministerial levels.

Flood Defences

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what projects (a) have been completed, (b) are under way and (c) are planned to deal with flooding in North Belfast; and what the costs are of each project.

John Spellar: I have asked the Chief Executive of Water Service to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Kinnego Park

John Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a map of the land in the vicinity of Kinnego Park in Derry that is in the possession of the Road Service.

John Spellar: I have arranged for the relevant map to be placed in the Library.

Learning Difficulties

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what input the working group chaired by the Department of Education to consider future provision for young people with moderate learning difficulties has made to (a) the Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability Services commissioned and led by the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety, (b) the Children's Strategy Review led by the Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers and (c) the consultation exercise on Youth Services led by the Department of Education.

Jane Kennedy: The Department of Education does not chair a group to consider future provision for the needs of young people specifically with moderate learning difficulties. It does, however, chair an Inter Departmental Working Group (IDG) that is looking at the transition of young people with statements of special educational needs to adult life.
	(a) The Chair of the IDG is a member of the Promoting Social Inclusion sub-group of the Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability Steering Group. The Education and Training Inspectorate is represented on both the Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability Steering Group and the Children and Young People Task Group, as well as the IDG.
	(b) The IDG has made no direct input to the development of the Strategy for Children and Young People. However, the Department is represented on the interdepartmental group which is overseeing the development of the strategy and through this forum will ensure that the strategy takes account of the various initiatives in which the Department is involved.
	(c) It is not clear to which consultation exercise the question refers. Issues which have indications for the Youth Service will be drawn to the attention of the relevant authorities.

Management Consultants

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to his Department of using management consultants has been in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The total expenditure on use of management consultants 1 for my Department (including the Northern Ireland Office, but excluding agencies and non-departmental public bodies) in each of the last five years was as follows:
	1 Defined as consultancy work relating to policy appraisal and review, strategic management, organisational development and performance management.
	
		
			  (£) 
		
		
			 1999–00 (3)1,193,814 
			 2000–01 2,541,618 
			 2001–02 3,104,216 
			 2002–03 2,642,657 
			 2003–04 1,639,617 
		
	
	(3) Following devolution five new NI Departments came into existence in December 1999 (the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Department of Employment and Learning, Department for Regional Development, Department for Social Development and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister). The first four months were largely taken up with the development of structures and strategies. Expenditure on consultancy was, therefore, relatively small.

North-South Implementation Bodies

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the current staffing figures for each of the North-South implementation bodies.

Paul Murphy: Details of the staff employed in the North/South Implementation Bodies as at 5 November 2003 are provided in the table below:
	
		Number (wte) employed in North/South Implementation Bodies at 5November 2003
		
			 Body Permanent Secondees Temporary Placements Total 
		
		
			 The Foyle Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission 35 1 2 2 40 
			 Waterways Ireland 314.12 1 11 — 326.12 
			 The Trade and Business Development Body 38.6 1 — 2 41.6 
			 The Special EU Programmes Body 36 2 6 - 44 
			 The North/South Language Body 40.1 3 1.4 1 45.5 
			 The Food Safety Promotion Board 19 — 9 1 29 
			 Grand total 482.82 8 29.4 6 526.22

Paramilitary Activities

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many paramilitary shootings there were in 2003, broken down by paramilitary group.

Jane Kennedy: It is not possible to provide the information in the level of detail requested. However, I can advise that during 2003 there were 154 paramilitary style shootings: 99 attributed to loyalists and 55 to republicans.
	Note:
	2003 statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) police officers and (b) full-time reservists are attached to each district command unit; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The figures requested as at 30 January 2004 are shown in the table.
	
		(FTE)
		
			 DCU Regular Reserve CON 
		
		
			 Antrim DCU 138.75 46 
			 Ards DCU 150.75 48 
			 Armagh DCU 129.5 52 
			 Banbridge DCU 91.5 24.75 
			 Belfast East DCU 216 114 
			 Belfast North DCU 356.5 73 
			 Belfast South DCU 350.75 105 
			 Belfast West DCU 247 144 
			 Ballymena DCU 138 19 
			 Ballymoney DCU 65 12 
			 Carrickfergus DCU 79 41 
			 Coleraine 134 32 
			 Cookstown 91 24 
			 Craigavon DCU 193.75 43 
			 Castlereagh DCU 126.5 56 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 142.75 45 
			 Down DCU 157.5 54 
			 Fermanagh DCU 183 55 
			 Foyle DCU 248 63 
			 Larne DCU 82 16 
			 Limavady DCU 83 22 
			 Lisburn DCU 233.25 79 
			 Magherafelt DCU 94 45 
			 Moyle DCU 27 10 
			 Newtownabbey DCU 156 24 
			 North Down DCU 156.75 65 
			 Newry and Mourne DCU 196.75 59 
			 Omagh DCU 125 32 
			 Strabane DCU 111 44 
			 Totals 4,504 1,446.75 
		
	
	The table represents those officers specifically attached to District Command Units. A further 2,654 regular and 173 full-time reserve officers are attached to headquarters and regions, many of whom (such as those within Tactical Support Groups, Regional Crime Squads and Road Traffic Policing) are also deployed to assist officers in individual District Command Units as necessary.
	Note:
	It should be noted that where officers are listed as, for example, .75 or .25 this equates to hours worked of full-time staff who have elected to work part-time.

Public Order

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been charged with an offence arising out of disturbances in North Belfast on 12 July 2003.

Jane Kennedy: No persons have been charged with public order offences in North Belfast on 12 July 2003.

Racism

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will attend the Anti-Racist Network rally in Belfast City Hall on 27 January; and whether his Department is providing financial assistance for the rally.

Paul Murphy: I was unable to attend the rally in Belfast due to commitments in Westminster. I understand that an official from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister's Race Equality Unit attended.

Sinn Fein

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the recent comments by the Justice Minister of the Republic of Ireland that Sinn Fein benefits from criminal activity.

Jane Kennedy: I am aware of the recent comments by the Irish Government, and we maintain close contact with them. Investigation of specific allegations of criminal activity is a matter for the Chief Constable. More generally, PIRA and other paramilitary involvement in criminal activity is well documented, as is the range of action being taken against it.

Speed Limits

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the tolerance levels permitted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland are for motorists exceeding the speed limit and who have been detected using (a) fixed cameras, (b) mobile cameras and (c) other detection devices; and how long these tolerance levels have been in force.

Jane Kennedy: The Northern Ireland Safety Camera Scheme was launched on 1 July 2003, comprising four fixed sites and over 70 mobile enforcement sites. To date a total of 10,321 motorists have been detected through the scheme.
	The PSNI do not think that it would be appropriate to disclose the threshold they operate to in respect of speeding offences as this may lead motorists to make an assumption that it is safe to travel at this speed without fear of detection, thus contributing to an increase in the overall average speed of vehicles on our roads.
	The purpose of a threshold is to allow for inaccuracies in the target vehicle's speedometer and to provide a consistency in police enforcement. The threshold does not vary according to the type of enforcement being conducted, however should there be extenuating circumstances, for example, children entering and leaving school, the threshold may be lowered in order to deal with offending motorists.
	The thresholds have been in place since October 2001.

St. Cecilia's College

John Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the (a) size and (b) physical condition of the buildings at St. Cecilia's College, Derry, for the purposes of delivering the Northern Ireland curriculum; and what the time scale is for replacement of the school buildings;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of whether the (a) size and (b) physical condition of the buildings of St. Cecilia's College, Derry, are sufficient for the purposes of delivering the Northern Ireland Curriculum; and what his Department's plans are for the timing of replacement school buildings.

Jane Kennedy: St. Cecilia's College suffers from a number of serious deficiencies in the level of permanent accommodation. A major capital works scheme to address these deficiencies was announced in March 2001 and a project board has been established to take forward the scheme through a public private partnership arrangement. It is anticipated that, subject to securing a successful outcome from current discussions on the site issues affecting the school, it should be possible for the scheme for a new school to progress shortly to public advertisement. I would hope that the scheme could be completed within about 2½ years following the advertisement.

Surgery (Gall Stones and Kidney Stones)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have required surgery for the treatment of (a) gall stones and (b) kidney stones, in each of the past five years.

Angela Smith: The information is as follows:
	(a) The following table shows the total number of patients in Northern Ireland who had surgery for gall stones in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			  NI total 
		
		
			 1998–99 1,781 
			 1999–2000 1,798 
			 2000–01 1,829 
			 2001–02 1,834 
			 2002–03 2,119 
		
	
	(b) The following table shows the total number of patients in Northern Ireland who had surgery for kidney stones in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			  NI total 
		
		
			 1998–99 191 
			 1999–2000 216 
			 2000–01 213 
			 2001–02 199 
			 2002–03 360 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital Inpatients System.

Teacher Vacancies

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teacher vacancies there were in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; and what steps he is taking to reduce such figures.

Jane Kennedy: Information on teaching vacancies is not held by the Department of Education nor collated by the relevant employing authorities as figures change very frequently due to workforce mobility. However, a survey into possible teacher shortages in the post-primary sector, carried out by researchers from Stranmillis University College in June 2003, indicated 86 vacancies out of a total teaching force of over 10,000 in that sector.

TREASURY

Immigration

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to change his estimate of immigration in the (a) short, (b) medium and (c) long terms to take account of likely numbers of immigrants from Eastern European countries which will accede to the EU this year.

Ruth Kelly: The latest (2002-based) official population projections for the United Kingdom were published by the Government Actuary's Department in December 2003. At present, the precise impact of enlargement of the European Union cannot be predicted. However, recent Home Office research has concluded that the effect on the UK is likely to be fairly small.
	National population projections are normally carried out biennially and the next set is scheduled for publication in 2005. As usual, there will be a full review of migration assumptions for these projections. The need for an additional allowance for the effects of EU enlargement will be reviewed at the time.

Community Amateur Sports Clubs

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many community amateur sports clubs he estimates will benefit from 80 per cent. mandatory rate relief in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley.

John Healey: It is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 clubs in the UK might be eligible to apply for registration as a community amateur sports club (CASC). Details of clubs by town or county are not held centrally.
	All eligible clubs in England and Wales will be able to receive mandatory rates relief of 80 per cent. from April 2004. Local authorities can increase this relief to 100 per cent. at their own discretion.

Economic Inactivity

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were economically inactive and what the economic inactivity rate was for each quarter since Quarter 1 1997, broken down by (a) qualification level, (b) income bracket, (c) former profession where applicable, (d) age group and (e) sex, in each (i) constituency and (ii) region.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. George Osborne, dated 9 February 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about economic inactivity. (152932)
	I regret that this information could only be provided in full at disproportionate cost. However, some of the higher-level information requested is published on the ONS website, or on the Nomis( database, both of which are available via the House of Commons Library.
	Information about economic inactivity levels by age and sex in each region is published in Table 10 of the Labour Market Statistics Regional First Releases, which can be accessed from the following page on the ONS website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/press release/Archive.asp. These estimates, from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), are subject to revisions. LFS estimates published in the Regional First Releases prior to 13 November 2003 are not directly comparable with current data. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
	ONS does not publish estimates of economic inactivity rates by age and sex for each region. However, these can be calculated by subtracting the economic activity rate (published in Table 9 of the Regional First Releases) from 100 per cent.
	For Parliamentary Constituency areas, ONS produces information about economic inactivity rates, but not levels, by age and sex. This information is available on a yearly basis and can be obtained from the Nomis( database.

Economic Inactivity

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) benefits and (b) tax credits are available to people who are economically inactive.

Dawn Primarolo: Incapacity Benefit, Carer's Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Income Support and Housing and Council Tax Benefit are the principal benefits available to working age people who are economically inactive. From this year all families with children and with annual pre-tax incomes of £58,000 or less are eligible for the Child Tax Credit.

Economic Inactivity

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of (a) benefits and (b) tax credits paid to people who were economically inactive in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on expenditure on benefits which are primarily paid to economically inactive people of working age is published in the Benefit Expenditure Tables on the Department of Work and Pensions' Website at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp. The Working Families' and Disabled Person's Tax Credits were only paid to households with one or more working adults. From this year all families with children and with annual pre-tax incomes of £58,000 or less are eligible for the Child Tax Credit.

Economic Inactivity

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of (a) educational attainment, (b) skills gaps and (c) language barriers as causes of economic inactivity.

Ruth Kelly: The Government have published an analysis of the extent and causes of inactivity and unemployment, and of the policies in place to address them, in "Full employment in every region" (HM Treasury/Department for Work and Pensions, December 2003), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	The Government's strategy to raise skill levels in the UK is set out in the White Paper "21st Century Skills—Realising our Potential" in July 2003 (Cm 5810).

Energy Efficiency

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a summary of responses received to the consultation paper Economic instruments to improve household energy efficiency: consultation document on specific measures.

John Healey: The consultation was launched on 1 August 2003, and closed on 24 October. The Government received 126 responses, a summary of which was published on the Treasury's website on 11 December 2003, and a copy is available in the Library of the House.

Euro

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect upon forecast euro area gross domestic product growth of the strength of the euro on the euro area trade route; and what assessment he has made of the implications of this effect for the UK economy.

Ruth Kelly: The Government will update their forecasts for the UK economy and the euro area in the Budget on 17 March, taking into account all relevant factors.

Family Expenditure Survey

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the definition of income in the family expenditure survey includes capital gains.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Vincent Cable, dated 9 February 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking whether the definition of income in the Family Expenditure Survey includes capital gains. (153616)
	The definition of income used in the Family Expenditure Survey, and its successor from 2001–02, the Expenditure and Food Survey, does not include capital gains. This is in accordance with international guidelines. Further detail is available on the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme social/Family Spending 2001 02 revised/Family Spending revised.pdf

International Finance Facility

Julia Drown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution the UK will make to the International Finance Facility to 2015; and what proportion of projected GDP this represents.

John Healey: Final decisions on contributions to the proposed International Finance Facility can only be taken in conjunction with donor partners.
	For our part, the UK Government stands ready to commit the additional resources pledged at the 2002 Monterrey Conference, where all EU states agreed to reach 0.39 per cent. ODA/GNI from 2006. The most recent Spending Review announced that UK ODA would reach £4.9 billion from 2005–06, or 0.4 per cent. ODA/GNI, thereby exceeding our Monterrey commitment. This represents a 93 per cent. increase in UK official development assistance since 1997.

MOD Expenditure

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those categories of expenditure within which the Ministry of Defence may normally incur commitments within existing budgetary limits without the need to refer to his Department.

Paul Boateng: A list of categories within HM Treasury's financial delegation to MOD has been placed in the Library of the House.

National Savings Bank Accounts

Roger Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions took place between the Treasury, the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters and non-governmental organisations representing the elderly prior to the decision to withdraw the National Savings Bank Blue Ordinary Account; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: National Savings and Investments' primary role is to raise cost-effective financing for the Government and it can only achieve this by offering savings and investment products which are attractive to customers and which they want to buy.
	The Ordinary Account, set up in 1861, has changed little since it was introduced. Due to extensive changes in the savings market, the Ordinary Account no longer reflects customers' savings needs. In light of this, and following research with a wide range of customers, National Savings and Investments decided, with the Treasury's approval, to close the Ordinary Account and open a new and more appealing product—the Easy Access Savings Account. The features of this new product are aimed at offering customers greater flexibility in managing their savings.
	The Post Office remains a key channel for National Savings and Investments and the new Easy Access Savings Account has been specifically developed with them to take advantage of their new network banking capability.
	Although neither the Treasury nor National Savings and Investments had direct discussions with the National Federation of Sub Postmasters, the Post Office engaged in direct discussions with the Federation on how to introduce the new account and close the Ordinary Account.
	In December, as the first public announcement of the planned changes was made, special interest groups, including those with a special interest in the elderly, were informed by the Post Office and National Savings and Investments. National Savings and Investments also offered to discuss their plans directly with these groups as well as with the Federation.

National Savings Bank Accounts

Roger Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what provision will be made to enable National Savings Bank Blue Ordinary Account holders without bank accounts to transfer funds to a National Savings Bank Easy Access Account;
	(2)  whether post office card accounts are acceptable in lieu of bank accounts for the purpose of transferring from National Savings Bank Blue Ordinary accounts to National Savings Bank Easy Access accounts.

Ruth Kelly: In common with many other providers, National Savings and Investments' new Easy Access Savings Account requires a customer to have a bank or building society account to receive repayments. The Easy Access Savings Account will therefore not be suitable for those without such an account. However, National Savings and Investments offer other products, including the Investment Account, which can be operated without the need for a bank account. The Post Office card account is limited to receiving pension or benefit payments only and no other credits so would not be suitable as an alternative to use with an Easy Access Savings Account.

National Savings Bank Accounts

Roger Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what facilities will be made available to give persons holding National Savings Bank blue ordinary accounts who do not have a bank account access to their funds after 31 July.

Ruth Kelly: After 31 July 2004, if a customer wishes to make a withdrawal from their Ordinary Account—which must be to close the account—the arrangements will remain as they currently stand. A customer who does not have a bank account can request an uncrossed warrant that can be encashed at a chosen Post Office branch.

Penrose Report

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the delay in the publication of the Penrose Report on Equitable Life.

Ruth Kelly: As set out in my written statement of 5 January 2004, the Treasury intends to publish the report in full as soon as possible. There will be an announcement about publication in due course.

Provision for Defence Capability

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the net cash requirement for Request for Resources 1: Provision for Defence Capability is for financial years 2001–02 to 2002–03; and what the planned net cash requirement is for financial years 2003–04 to 2005–06.

Paul Boateng: For 2001–02 and 2002–03, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Ministry of Defence's Report and Accounts 2002–03 (published in October 2003) and for the current year to the Winter Supplementary Estimate for 2003–04 (published in November 2003). Net Cash Requirement figures for 2004–05 and 2005–06 are not held.

R and D Tax Credit

Brian Cotter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the small businesses that have applied for the research and development tax credit have had their applications accepted in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of claims from small companies received in each year since 2000 is given in my answer to a question from the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) of 19 January 2004, Official Report, column 1045W. The figures provided represent the number of Corporation Tax Self Assessment returns where companies have claimed research and development tax credits.

Spirit Duty (Evasion)

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful prosecutions there were for evading duty on spirits in 2001–02.

John Healey: In 2001–02 there were nine prosecutions for evading duty on spirits, of these seven were successful and two were unsuccessful.
	Additionally 99 prosecutions were brought for cases involving the evasion of duty on mixed excise goods, some of which may have included spirits.
	Figures for the current and future years will be reported by HM Customs and Excise in their Annual Report.

Theatre Tax Receipts

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate total tax receipts accruing to the Exchequer from the theatre sector through (a) the taxation of theatre companies' profits and (b) VAT on the sale of theatre tickets.

John Healey: Corporation Tax data do not identify receipts from the theatre sector separately from other Recreational Services.
	The VAT due on the sale of theatre tickets is estimated at around £45 million. This estimate does not take account of any input VAT reclaimed by businesses on the purchase of theatre tickets.

Tripartite Committee on Financial Stability

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to whom the minutes of the Tripartite Committee on Financial Stability are distributed; and when and under what circumstances they can be made available to hon. Members.

Ruth Kelly: The minutes of the Tripartite Committee are distributed to the Chancellor, the Financial Secretary and other officials at the Treasury, Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority. The minutes must remain confidential because of constraints under EC and UK law, because publication could discourage private sector practitioners and foreign financial authorities from supplying information on an informal basis and because the material is often market sensitive.

Tripartite Committee on Financial Stability

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the agenda items covered by the monthly meetings of the Tripartite Committee on Financial Stability in the last six months.

Ruth Kelly: The agendas of Tripartite Standing Committee meetings must remain confidential because even the disclosure that a certain issue has been discussed could be market sensitive, or in some circumstances, exacerbate problems which the Committee is seeking to address.
	The range of subjects that the Committee has discussed was described in a note by HM Treasury to the Treasury Committee in January 2003.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when he will reply to the letter to him dated 15 December 2003 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. W. Stewart.

David Lammy: I apologise to my right hon. Friend for the delay in replying to his letter of 15 December last. The position in relation to Mr. Stewart's dealing with the Legal Services Commission is that the Commission wrote to his solicitors on 22 January, requesting that they submit their bill of costs within 28 days. I hope to be in a position to report to him further during the week 23 February.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what type of secure communications systems are available to British troops in Afghanistan;
	(2)  what (a) type and (b) quantity of secure communications British (i) foot and (ii) mobile patrols have in Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 5 February 2004
	The United Kingdom's forces deployed in Afghanistan are equipped with a range of static and mobile secure communications systems. Static systems operating through satellite ground stations link both the United Kingdom's contingent serving in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and the provincial reconstruction team (PRT), into the Ministry of Defence's wider secure communications network. The ISAF contingent also uses an encrypted very high frequency radio system for both vehicle and foot patrols while the PRT relies on tactical satellite communications systems. I am withholding further details of these systems and the numbers in accordance with exemption 1 of the code of practice on access to Government information.

Aircraft Carrier

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on current projections of cost and capability for the new aircraft carrier programme.

Adam Ingram: The Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) programme is currently in its Assessment Phase. Decisions on the programme beyond that stage, including the capability which CVF will deliver, will be taken at the Main Gate investment point.
	Our current estimate for the cost of the Demonstration and Manufacture contract is around £3 billion. These cost estimates will be further refined during the remainder of the Assessment Phase.

Ammunition

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts for the production of ammunition have been awarded to foreign companies in circumstances where a British company has bid for the contract in the last five years; and who the (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful companies were in each case.

Adam Ingram: Over the past five years some 44 contracts for ammunition have been placed with foreign companies. However, we are unable to verify whether British companies bid for these contracts as the information on unsuccessful bidders is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The successful contractors by country were as follows:
	Belgium
	FN Herstal
	Germany
	Dynamit Nobel GmbH
	Silberhutte
	Raug Munitions
	Nico Pyro
	MEN
	Shamban Aerospace Sealing
	Israel
	Israel Military Industries
	Italy
	Simmel
	Netherlands
	Erometaal
	Norway
	Nammo Raufoss
	South Africa
	Swartklip
	Milkor (PT Y) Ltd.
	Sweden
	Nammo Vanasverken
	Bofors
	USA
	General Dynamics

Ammunition

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which foreign contractors after winning an ammunition contract have refused to supply the goods in the last five years; and what the reasons given for doing so were in each case.

Adam Ingram: There have been no known cases in the last five years of foreign contractors refusing to supply ammunition which they were contracted to do so.

Armed Forces Accommodation (Wales)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the standard of armed forces accommodation in Wales.

Ivor Caplin: Separate figures for Wales are not readily identifiable and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, within the Western Region, of which Wales is a part, there are 3,683 core family properties of which 2,446 are in the top category for quality. Single Living Accommodation, which provides some 3,800 bed-spaces in Wales and 1,462 are in the top two quality categories.

Arms Purchases

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Government have used a contractor to purchase weapons from abroad for supply to another foreign user; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: No form of arrangements have been made with a contractor to purchase weapons from abroad for supply to a foreign user outside of the governing UK export control system.

Artillery Weapons

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress on deciding which weapons would best meet the Army's future Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapons System Gun requirement.

Adam Ingram: The Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapons System Gun programme is currently in its Assessment Phase. A decision on the best solution for this requirement is not expected before 2006.

Cluster Munitions

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date his Department was informed of the purchase in early 2003 by BAE Systems UK from Israel Military Industries of 26,000 155 mm L20 cluster artillery shells; whether the order was made at the behest of his Department; what his Department's response was in respect of this proposed purchase; on what date a Minister was first notified of this proposed purchase and what his response was; on what date his Department purchased these cluster shells from BAE Systems and at what cost; for what reason his Department purchased these cluster shells from BAE Systems rather than from Israeli Military Systems directly; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: A contract was let with BAE Systems on 7 November 2002 by the Defence General Munitions Integrated Project Team (DGM IPT). Deliveries from that contract were made in March, May, June and July 2003. I am withholding details of the cost of these munitions in accordance with Exemption 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information as it is classified Commercial in Confidence. It is normal practice under the Framework Partnering Agreement with the Royal Ordnance Defence division of BAE Systems for the DGM IPT to use the company as a Prime Contractor whenever it is cost effective and adds value to do so. In this case, these requirements were met since BAE Systems were able to negotiate favourable rates for the shell.

Colchester Garrison

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many companies are in negotiations with the Ministry of Defence over the Colchester Garrison Private Finance Initiative agreement;
	(2)  how long negotiations for the Colchester Garrison Private Finance Initiative agreement have been taking place.

Ivor Caplin: As I announced on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 30WS, the Ministry of Defence has reached agreement with RMPA Services plc to redevelop and operate Colchester Garrison under a Private Finance Initiative. RMPA Services plc are a consortium, comprising Sir Robert McAlpine, W. S. Atkins plc, Sodexho and HSBC Infrastructure. Negotiations with the consortium commenced in October 1999 when they were appointed preferred bidder.

Departmental Land

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total expenditure on the maintenance of land owned by his Department within the UK was in 2002–03.

Ivor Caplin: The total expenditure on the Defence Estate in financial year 2002–03 for works services, accommodation stores, redevelopment, building maintenance, major housing works and some project expenditure on both land and buildings was £1.5 billion.

Departmental Land

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 274W, on departmental land, what the cost of maintaining land owned by his Department was in each of the last five years; and what the value is of the land.

Ivor Caplin: The following figures include costs for each of the last four full financial years for works services, accommodation stores, redevelopment, building maintenance, major housing works and some project expenditure on both land and buildings. There is no published information for 1998–99.
	
		
			 Financial year £ billion 
		
		
			 1999–2000 1.1 
			 2000–01 1.2 
			 2001–02 1.2 
			 2002–03 1.5 
		
	
	The value of land owned by the Ministry of Defence is available on the Fixed Assets Register which can be accessed at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/mediastore/otherfiles/217.pdf

Disposal Contractors

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what provision the Department has made for exceptional legal costs associated with litigation with disposal contractors;
	(2)  how many sets of barristers' chambers have been employed by the Disposal Services Agency for litigation against disposal contractors since 1997, broken down by litigation action;
	(3)  what the (a) external legal and (b) total costs were of settling each claim by the Disposal Services Agency against disposal contractors in each year since 1997, broken down by contractor;
	(4)  how the accounts of the Disposal Services Agency indicated costs incurred for legal action involving disposal contractors in each year since 1997;
	(5)  which disposal contractors are in litigation with the Disposal Services Agency; and how many other disputes may result in litigation, broken down by contractor;
	(6)  how many disposal contractors the Disposal Services Agency has been in litigation with on contractual matters in each quarter since 1997, broken down by contractor; and how many have been settled by each year end;
	(7)  which disposal contractors have dealt with the Disposal Services Agency since 1997;
	(8)  what the legal costs of defending each action by disposal contractors against the Disposal Services Agency were in each of the last five years;
	(9)  if he will list the cases against the Disposal Services Agency which were settled (a) in court and (b) by arbitration in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: A list of all the companies that have held disposal contracts with the Disposal Services Agency (DSA) for the collection, storage and marketing of surplus MOD stock since 1997 is set out as follows:
	
		DSA Marketing and Sales Agreements
		
			 SRL No. Contractor Commodity 
		
		
			  Current Contractors 
			 1 Azcom Office and Domestic Furniture 
			 2 Babcock Commercial Vessels 
			 3 Babcock Misc Items (RMA) 
			 4 BAE Systems Stingray MODO and Tigerfish 
			 5 Cronifer Sale of Stock and Reusable Metals 
			 6 Donelan Office and Domestic Furniture 
			 7 Ecosse Hospital Products Ltd. Hospital Products 
			 8 Field Textiles Clothing and Textiles 
			 9 JCM Sale of surpluses from private sector and Gazelle Helicopters 
			 10 Leyland Trucks Ltd. Sale of Leyland 4 tonne trucks to Kenya 
			 11 Liquidity Services Intl Surplus Ship, Aircraft and A Veh. Spares 
			 12 MBDA UK Ltd. Rapier Eqpt and Spares 
			 13 Office Green Toner and Ink Jet Cartridges and Mobile Phones 
			 14 PAL Carriers Ltd. Office and Domestic Furniture 
			 15 Penman Eng Ltd. APV 1.5 Vehicles 
			 16 Ramco Misc. Items and Catering Eqpt. (RMA) 
			 17 Recommit Computers Associated Eqpt. 
			 18 RO PLC/BAE Army Ammunition 
			 19 Sigma Aerospace ALISON T-56 AERO ENGINES 
			 20 Silver Lining Surplus Computers Associated Eqpt. 
			 21 Thales Air Defence Javelin "Starburst" S1 5 
			 22 Thorn Microwave Devices RADAR (ESFKS) 
			 23 Trackteck Industries Cymbeline (mortar location radar) 
			 24 Victory Ltd. Wood and Copper HMS Victory 
			 25 Withams Motor Vehicles (Non Armoured) 
			  Former Contractors 
			 26 AMAC (UK) Ltd. Clothing and Textiles 
			 27 Blue Chip International Disposals Misc. Items (RMA) 
			 28 British Car Auctions Motor Vehicles 
			 29 Compaq Ltd. Computers Associated Eqpt  
			 30 EKO-TEK Power Ltd. Misc Items (RMA) 
			 31 Digital Ltd. Computers Associated Eqpt. 
			 32 Fourth Party Services Ltd. Computers Associated Eqpt. 
			 33 Sartek (UK) Ltd. Computers Associated Eqpt. 
			 34 Hall and Watts 105mm Pack Howitzer 
			 35 LC Trading Office and Domestic Furniture 
			 36 Leafields Logistics and Tech. Services Ltd. Ship Spares 
			 37 Leafields Logistics and Tech. Services Ltd. Misc. Items (RMA) 
			 38 MASL Aircraft Spares 
			 39 MGS (UK) Ltd. Misc Items (RMA)—Region 5 and 7 
			 40 Military Vehicle Spares Ltd. Motor Vehicle Spares 
			 41 RO Defence PLC Light Guns 
		
	
	All of the DSA's contracts with these marketing contractors contain clauses within them that allow for the resolution of disputes. If, through normal dialogue between the parties, a dispute cannot be resolved, either party has the right to seek resolution of the dispute through litigation or arbitration. The arbitration process is in confidence.
	Since 1997, there has only been one case of arbitration and this is still ongoing. However, because the information refers to legal proceedings, I am withholding the details in accordance with Exemption 4c of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. There have been no court proceedings.
	If a dispute escalates into formal arbitration, legal costs may be incurred by the Department (depending upon the nature of the claim). These costs, however, may be recoverable depending on the outcome of the arbitration process.

Fighter Jets

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether Harrier GR7/9 aircraft will be able to operate from CVF prior to the entry into the service of the joint strike fighter;
	(2)  when he expects the joint strike fighter to enter into service.

Adam Ingram: It would in theory be possible to operate Harrier GR9 from CVF but we have no requirement to do so. Current planning assumptions are that the primary aircraft operating from CVF will be the short take off vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the joint strike fighter which has been selected as the future joint combat aircraft (FJCA). Both CVF and FJCA are currently planned to come into service in 2012.

Foreign Ships

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 746W, on foreign ships, what plans he has to change the process by which his Department charters foreign ships; how many foreign vessels were rejected for charter last year because they failed to meet the standards set by his Department; and what plans he has to increase the proportion of British ships flying the Red Ensign used by his Department.

Adam Ingram: The process for chartering freight-carrying commercial ships is reviewed on a regular basis and was last reviewed during 2003, following the Iraq campaign, when a more robust risk-based assessment was incorporated. Specialist ships are chartered to deliver specific technical capability, primarily outside the United Kingdom and often with limited global availability.
	As I said in my previous reply, information on why ships fail consideration of charter is not held centrally. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The selection of ships for charter is dependent on a whole range of factors, of which flagging is but one. The Ministry of Defence charters ships in accordance with the European Union guidelines and to give bias to ships flying the Red Ensign would, therefore, run counter to such arrangements.

Future Aircraft Carriers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the maximum number of aircraft which will be capable of deployment on each future aircraft carrier.

Adam Ingram: The CVF programme is currently in its Assessment Phase. This stage of work is intended to balance the key parameters of performance, time and cost in order to best meet our developing capability requirements, both in terms of the ships themselves and in the aircraft they will operate. The precise number of aircraft capable of being deployed on each CVF is still being finalised and will continue to evolve as the programme progresses.

HMS Bridport

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what repair work needed to be done to HMS Bridport in the 12 months before she was withdrawn from service;
	(2)  what his assessment is of the cost of bringing HMS Bridport into operational service.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 72W. During the 12 months before HMS Bridport was placed in extended readiness, no specific repair work needed to be done other than the routine maintenance and periodic safety related tasks which are necessary to enable RN ships to fulfil Fleet tasking. Should the decision be taken to return HMS Bridport to operational service, the cost of regeneration would depend on her material state and the plans for her future tasking at that time. Bridport was to have undergone a refit in 2002. However, in view of the decision to hold her in extended readiness, this work was not undertaken. Therefore, to regenerate her would require, as a minimum, an extended refit.

Hutton Report

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who in his Department saw the embargoed version of Lord Hutton's report.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer, which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 758W.

Information Technology

Richard Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what cost savings have been made in his Department since the introduction of the Information Technology Procurement Centre of Excellence; and how these were calculated.

Ivor Caplin: In June 2003 the Ministry of Defence set up a centre of excellence covering all procurement issues. MOD has not attributed cost savings to the Centre of Excellence.

Iodine Tablets (Nuclear Submarine Berths)

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the reason was for the issuing of stable iodine tablets to members of the public living near the nuclear submarine berths at Loch Ewe and in Broadford Bay; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There is a berth at Aultbea (Loch Ewe) and a second at Broadford Bay that are designated as suitable for visits by operational nuclear-powered warships. Under the Radiation Emergency Preparedness and Public Information Regulations 2001 (REPPIR 2001), local authorities have responsibility for preparing an off-site emergency plan in the vicinity of such berths. Decisions on the distribution of Potassium Iodate Tablets form part of this planning activity.
	The purpose of emergency planning is to ensure that procedures are in place to maximise public safety. Following a review, Wester Loch Ewe Community Council in consultation with NHS Highlands and Islands and the Northern Constabulary, and with advice from the Ministry of Defence, decided that the most practical and efficient means of ensuring that Potassium Iodate Tablets are readily available, in the very unlikely event of a nuclear incident at the Aultbea and Broadford Bay berths, would be to pre-distribute the tablets to the local population. The tablets have been distributed by the MOD, on behalf of the local authorities, to all properties, private and commercial, within a two kilometre radius of Aultbea and Broadford Bay within the last two weeks.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Arabic speakers are employed by British forces in Iraq; in what situations they are employed; and from where they have been recruited.

Adam Ingram: Arabic-speaking personnel working in Iraq include qualified interpreters who assist senior military and civilian officials, UK military specialists who mostly-deal with translation of classified information, interpreters employed in theatre (mainly Iraqis but also some Kuwaitis), civilians taken on locally to assist with general low-level communication with the Iraqi population and civilians locally recruited for some support and administrative tasks. The total number of Arabic speakers in Iraq is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Iraqi arms dumps have been discovered in Iraq since 1 May 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: As at 2 February 48 major Iraqi arms dumps had been identified in the Multinational Division (South East) area of responsibility. We are not in a position to comment on other areas of Iraq.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from members of the Iraqi Governing Council about alleged violations of human rights by coalition forces.

Adam Ingram: We are not aware of any representations by members of the Iraqi Governing Council about alleged violations of human rights by coalition forces.

Iraq

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to receive the result of the investigation into the killing of six Iraqis last weekend; who is carrying out the investigation; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 January 2004
	During the crowd disturbance on 10 January in Al Amarah an Iraqi threw explosive devices at United Kingdom forces who were endeavouring to calm the situation. The Iraqi was preparing to throw a further device when he was shot and killed by a British soldier. In accordance with standard procedures the incident has been assessed by the local British Commander who concluded that the soldier acted fully within his Rules of Engagement.
	The deaths of the other five Iraqi civilians were not caused by British forces. Any investigation will be a matter for the relevant Iraqi authorities.

Iraq

Helen Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the liaison between the Multinational Division (South East) and community and religious leaders in Basrah.

Adam Ingram: There is a wide variety of liaison activities conducted with community and religious groups on a frequent basis including by the General Officer Commanding United Kingdom forces. Meetings are held on a one to one basis with community and other influential leaders, governors, clerics and police officials. Larger meetings are held with representative associations such as local, tribal and provincial councils, political parties and provincial security committees. In addition the Division liaises on a more informal basis with professional groupings such as lawyers and academics.

Military Equipment

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what riot control equipment is provided to British forces in the Gulf; in what circumstances this equipment is deployed; and whether it is available to all forces personnel who need it.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 5 February 2004
	Seven riot control packs are currently provided to British forces in the Gulf. Each pack supplies an 80-man company and includes batons, shields, visor helmets and baton guns. This equipment is available to British forces personnel who are deployed to support the Iraqi police service in the maintenance of public order and is used in accordance with the Rules of Engagement for Operation Telic.

Ministry of Defence Police

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Ministry of Defence Police is expected to make efficiency savings.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is required to identify, and make, efficiency savings through the departmental financial planning process.

Ministry of Defence Police

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministry of Defence Police stations have been closed in the past two years; and what representations he has received from police forces about the closure of Ministry of Defence Police stations.

Ivor Caplin: Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) station closures, during the last two years are detailed below:
	
		
			 MOD Police Station Date of closure 
		
		
			 RO Nottingham 8 February 2002 
			 ATR Lichfield 25 March 2002 
			 HMS Cambridge 31 March 2002 
			 AFC Harrogate 29 July 2002 
			 Netheravon 30 September 2002 
			 West Freugh 30 September 2002 
			 Longcross Barracks 30 November 2002 
			 DERA Pendine 30 November 2002 
			 DERA Shoeburyness January 2003 
			 HMS Forest Moor 31 October 2003 
			 Feltham Station 30 January 2004 
		
	
	In addition, the MDP Agency Management Board have determined that MDP Area Policing Teams will be replaced by Divisional Support Groups (DSGs) in April 2004, involving some changes of locations. Mr. C. D. Lee, Deputy Chief Constable, Dorset Police and Mr. S. Long, Deputy Chief Constable, Wiltshire Constabulary, have both written to the Chief Constable, MDP about the planned MDP DSGs.

Naval Ships (Sales Abroad)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Disposal Services Agency has given the Indian Government a quote for the sale of (a) HMS Invincible and (b) Sea Harrier FA2s.

Adam Ingram: The Disposal Services Agency has had no communication with the Indian Government with regard to the sale of either HMS Invincible or Sea Harrier FA2s.

Naval Ships (Sales Abroad)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Disposals Services Agency has given the Chilean Government a quote for the sale of (a) Type 23 frigates and (b) Type 42 destroyers.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence maintains a dialogue with the Chilean Government with regard to Chile's future equipment requirements.
	However, the Disposal Services Agency has made no formal proposals to the Chilean Government with regard to the sale of either Type 23 frigates or Type 42 destroyers.

Operation Telic (Helicopter Crashes)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Board of Inquiry into the crash of two Sea King helicopters during Operation Telic will present its findings to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Board of Inquiry reported on 29 April 2003. The Convening Officer at FLEET Headquarters confirmed that the BOI had fulfilled its Terms of Reference on 1 May 2003. Work was then undertaken by FLEET Headquarters to consider the recommendations, determine how matters could be taken forward and to consider the likely implications for other programmes and operations. This staffing work, which involved other agencies and included drawing up the timetable for implementing changes to operating procedures, was completed in November 2003.
	A full technical investigation, undertaken in parallel by the Royal Navy Flight Safety and Accident Investigation Centre is still under way, and the report of its findings is not expected for some time. These findings will be given in a Military Aircraft Accident Summary that will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

Procurement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what monitoring system is in place to ensure consistency in the way that procurement competitions are held in each area of his Department.

Adam Ingram: The MOD does not have a single monitoring system in place to ensure consistency in the way that procurement competitions are undertaken. However competitive tendering and evaluation procedures are supported by strong processes operating within well established policy, including formally delegated responsibility and authority, which in itself drives consistency of approach in line with both European Directives and national law. The quality, impartiality and competence of the procurement staff who apply this policy also ensures consistency.

RAF Machrihanish

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of RAF Machrihanish for storing radioactive waste.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 6 February 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 February 2004, Official Report, column 889W. RAF Machrihanish, along with a number of other sites, is currently being assessed for suitability to store radioactive material under Project ISOLUS. If any of these sites are found to be suitable in principle, public consultation, similar to that conducted at those sites already named in the outline proposals received from industry, will be undertaken.

Regimental Bands

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current strength of each regimental band in the armed forces is; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The trained strength of each Services bands are as follows:
	
		Regimental band 
		
			  Strength 
		
		
			 Naval Service(4) , (5)  
			 Royal Marines Britannia Royal Naval College Band 40 
			 Royal Marines Commando Training Centre Band 45 
			 HQ Band Service 10 
			 Royal Marines School of Music 35 
			 Royal Marines Band Plymouth 70 
			 Royal Marines Band Portsmouth 85 
			 Royal Marines Band Scotland 45 
			  
			 Army(6) , (7)  
			 Life Guards 30 
			 Blue and Royals 30 
			 Dragoon Guards 30 
			 Hussars and Light Dragoons 30 
			 Royal Lancers 30 
			 Royal Tank Regiment 30 
			 Royal Artillery 45 
			 Royal Engineers 35 
			 Royal Signals 30 
			 Grenadier Guards 50 
			 Coldstream Guards 45 
			 Scots Guards 50 
			 Irish Guards 45 
			 Welsh Guards 45 
			 Highland 35 
			 Lowland 30 
			 Queens (Minden) 30 
			 Queens (Normandy) 30 
			 Kings (Waterloo) 35 
			 Kings (Normandy) 35 
			 Prince of Wales (Lucknow) 30 
			 Prince of Wales (Clive) 35 
			 Light Division 40 
			 Royal Irish Regiment 35 
			 Parachute 30 
			 Army Air Corps 30 
			 Royal Logistic Corps 35 
			 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 30 
			 Adjutant General's Corps  
			 Gurkha (GURTAM)  
			   
			 Royal Air Force(8) , (9)  
			 Central Band of the RAF 80 
			 Band of the RAF Regiment 40 
			 Music Detachment at Cranwell 40 
		
	
	(4) Royal Marines band service data provided by DASA.
	(5) Strength as at 1 December 2003 and excludes 20 personnel not assigned to a Band unit. These individuals are usually deployed as Volunteer Band Instructors.
	(6) Data supplied by Corps of Army Music (CAM).
	(7) Strength as at 30 January 2004.
	(8) Officers Music Branch and Other Ranks Musicians data supplied by DASA.
	(9) Strength as at 1 December 2003 and excludes 10 personnel based at HQ Music Services in Uxbridge.
	Note:
	All figures include Officers and Other Ranks and have been rounded to the nearest five.

South African Defence Minister (Visit)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) ministers and (b) officials from his Department met the former South African Defence Minister, Mr. Joe Modise, when he visited the UK during 1998; and whether his Department was informed of the visit by Mr. Modise to the UK and of the purpose of his visit.

Adam Ingram: The former South African Defence Minister, Mr. Joe Modise met with Ministers and officials of the Ministry of Defence both in the United Kingdom and overseas in 1997. No record has been identified of an official visit to the UK in 1998 by Mr. Modise.

Spearfish Torpedo

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress in replacing the Spearfish heavyweight torpedo.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is currently considering potential replacements for the Spearfish torpedo as part of its Submarine Launched Underwater Weapon programme. This is in the Concept Phase of its Acquisition Cycle and a number of possible enhancements are being investigated.

Welsh Regiments and Battalions

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) regiments based in Wales were deployed in Iraq and (b) soldiers from Welsh battalions are stationed in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: The only regiment currently based in Wales to have deployed to Iraq is the 14th Signal Regiment.
	Approximately 480 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales and approximately 30 territorial army soldiers from the Royal Welch Regiment, are currently deployed on Operation Telic.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Children's Centres

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what health care is provided to children in children's centres.

Margaret Hodge: Children's centres provide an opportunity for the enhancement and reshaping of health services for families with young children in the most disadvantaged areas of England. Services will vary according to local need but all children's centres must provide access to child and family health services. These services will include:
	ante-natal advice and support for parents;
	information and guidance on breast feeding, hygiene, nutrition and safety;
	identification, support and care for those suffering from maternal depression, ante-natally and post-natally;
	speech and language and other specialist support; and
	smoking cessation interventions.
	Health professionals will work with other Early Years professionals in education, family support and child care to ensure children's needs are met in an integrated way.

Access Premium

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what amount of Access Premium has been allocated to each higher education institution.

Alan Johnson: The amount of funding for widening access and improving retention for each higher education institution in 2003/04 is set out in table 1 of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) publication 'Recurrent Grants for 2003–04, final allocations (2003/53)'. A copy of this document is available on the HEFCE's website athttp://www. hefce.ac.uk/Pubs/hefce/2003/03 53/.

Access to Education

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether he enforces the statutory guidance document on access to education for children and young people with medical needs of November 2001;
	(2)  when he last had reason to intervene in a local education authority's failure to implement the statutory guidance contained within the access to education for children and young people with medical needs document of November 2001; how many times in each of the last two years he has had to intervene; and what plans he has to update these guidelines.

Margaret Hodge: In November 2001, the Department for Education and Skills, jointly with the Department of Health, published statutory guidance, "Access to Education for Children and Young People with Medical Needs", which sets out national minimum standards of education for those children and young people who cannot attend school due to illness. This is statutory guidance and local education authorities (LEAs) must have regard to it. The needs of this group of children and young people are often complex. There is therefore an expectation that LEAs should be sensible in their implementation of the guidance.
	The DfES has been working to ensure that LEAs and schools are aware of their responsibilities under the guidance. The DfES has sponsored research on mapping best practice, including self evaluation tools for those working in the field. Also, Ofsted published last year a survey report on education provision for children with medical needs. A series of seminars is planned this year to disseminate the findings and recommendations of the Ofsted report and to further raise awareness of the statutory guidance.
	The guidance flows from section 19 of the Education Act 1996, which places a duty on LEAs to provide "suitable education" for children of compulsory school age who cannot attend school because they are ill or excluded. The Secretary of State has not issued any directions to LEAs in the last two years for failing to provide suitable education for children who cannot attend school due to illness.
	Feedback on the guidance from those working with children and young people with medical needs is that it has had a positive impact. There are therefore no current plans to update the guidance.

Children's Fund

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grants have been made from the Children's Fund since it was set up.

Margaret Hodge: The Children's Fund programme was launched in November 2001 to fund the delivery of preventative services through 149 partnerships for 5 to 13-year-olds at risk. £187 million was made available to Children's Fund partnerships under in the 2000 Spending Review and £450 million in the 2002 Spending Review. The funding has mainly been distributed through the local partnerships. However, £21 million has been allocated to street crime initiative; £25 million to the development of the identification, and tracking project; £5.4 million for small grants to support for example child contact centres and £2.2 million for Young Recovery Projects.

Children's Homes

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will provide the latest available figures for the number of places for children in privately-run children's homes in each county in England.

Margaret Hodge: Figures on the number of places for children in privately-run children's homes in each county in England are not collected by this Department. Information at 19 January 2004 is available from the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) and their most recent figures, collected by NCSC region, are shown in the table. Information is not available at county level.
	
		Number of independent places in privately-run children's homes at 19January 2004
		
			 NCSC region Number 
		
		
			 North West 1,000 
			 South East 992 
			 London 693 
			 South West 660 
			 West Midlands 658 
			 East Midlands 287 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 272 
			 Eastern 252 
			 North East 166 
			 England 4,980 
		
	
	Source:
	National Care Standards Commission.

Children's Services

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much earmarked funding has been provided to local authorities for children's services in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: For financial years 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06, planned funding to be provided to local authorities for children's services is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			  
			  
			 2003–04 3,698,784 
			 2004–05 4,020,538 
			 2005–06 4,372,191 
		
	
	Figures given comprise all grants to be paid to local authorities for children's services and the Children's Social Services Formula Spending Share. Further information is available in the Local Authority Social Service Letter (2003) 7, copies of which are in the Library of the House. For planned expenditure on education services, I would refer the hon. Member to the Department of Education and Skills Annual Report for 2002–03, copies of which are also available in the Library of the House.

Correspondence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will reply to the letter to Mr. Simon Rhodes, dated 15 July 2003, which was sent by special delivery on 17 July and signed for by his representatives on 18 July (Royal Mail's reference: SU 4643 1881 8GB).

Stephen Twigg: Unfortunately, the letter in question does not appear to have reached the intended recipient in our Special Educational Needs Division. I offer my apologies to the hon. Member and his constituent for that and any difficulties it may have caused. However, since then Baroness Ashton, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sure Start, has sent two detailed replies dated 21 October and 19 December 2003 to the hon. Member in response to points raised.

Correspondence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he takes to ensure that documents received by Royal Mail special delivery are (a) recorded as such and (b) tracked within his Department.

Stephen Twigg: My Department has procedures in place for recording and tracking documents received by Royal Mail special delivery. Our procedures require a signature to be obtained from the end customer, as well as the mailroom, and then recorded for tracking purposes across Headquarter sites. However, procedures for special delivery documents at Sanctuary Buildings had been slightly different but have now been standardised in line with all the other Headquarter sites with immediate effect.

Deaths in Care

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died in care since 1992; and what proportion of these deaths have been of people from ethnic minorities.

Margaret Hodge: The estimated number of children who died in care in England during the ten year period 1 April 1992 to 31 March 2002 was 620.
	We believe that quite a large proportion of the children who died in care were severely disabled children or children with chronic illnesses being looked after in hospices/hospitals because they are too ill to be at home.
	Information on the number of children in care by ethnic origin has only been collected for the last 2 years from a one in three sample. The number of deaths to such children in ethnic minorities over that period are very small and therefore it is not possible to produce a reliable estimate of the proportion.

Tuition Fees

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements will be made for the repayment of fees by graduates who choose to leave the country and work overseas.

Alan Johnson: Well established procedures already exist for recovery of loans from graduates living and working outside of the UK. When taking out a loan, all students sign a declaration agreeing to repay, even if they move abroad, and SLC have a range of sanctions that can be imposed on any defaulters.

Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what amount has been set aside for centres for excellence in learning and teaching.

Alan Johnson: £315 million is being made available by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, over the five year period from 2004–05 to 2008–09, for Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Failing Schools

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were classified as failing in each year since 1996–97.

David Miliband: holding answer 22 January 2004
	The number of schools placed in special measures for each of the last seven years and in the first term of the current academic year is:
	
		
			 Academic year Secondary Primary 
		
		
			 1996/97 26 150 
			 1997/98 42 210 
			 1998/99 30 141 
			 1999/2000 38 168 
			 2000/01 23 100 
			 2001/02 19 94 
			 2002/03 35 99 
		
	
	
		Figures for autumn term 2003, following implementation of the new Ofsted Inspection Framework from September 2003
		
			  2003/04(10) 
		
		
			 Secondary 29 
			 Primary 54 
		
	
	(10) May reduce pending final corroboration.
	Over this period 1,137 schools have recovered from special measures. The number of schools in special measures was 515 at the end of the 1997/98 academic year. The total has now reduced to 318 at the end of autumn term 2003.

Foundation Degrees

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding the Learning and Skills Council will provide to higher education institutions for foundation degrees.

Alan Johnson: The Learning and Skills Council does not fund Foundation Degrees. The responsibility for funding Foundation Degrees rests with the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Foundation Degrees

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students he plans to be studying foundation degree courses by 2010.

Alan Johnson: We anticipate that there will be about 50,000 places on foundation degree courses by 2006. Plans for student numbers, including those taking foundation degrees, for 2005–06 to 2007–08 will be determined as part of the current spending review which will conclude later this year.

Further Education/Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of young people between the ages of 16 and 21 years are studying at further education colleges, excluding A-Level and GCSE students.

Alan Johnson: At the end of 2002, 17 per cent. of young people aged 16–21 in England were studying at further education colleges, excluding A-Level and GCSE students.

Further Education/Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the range of further education qualifications.

Alan Johnson: A full range of qualifications accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and funded by the Learning and Skills Council is approved for use by people under 19, The full list can be accessed through the Department's website at
	www.dfes.gsi.gov.uk/section96.
	The Learning and Skills Council may fund any course for use by persons over the age of 19, but may only make payments to awarding bodies in respect of their fees for qualifications approved under section 97 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. A full list of the qualifications approved under section 97 can be accessed through the Department's website at www.dfes.gsi.gov.uk/section97.

Further Education/Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what definition he uses of the terms (a) further education and (b) higher education.

Alan Johnson: Both further and higher education are defined in statute. The definition of further education is to be found at s.2(3) to (6) of the Education Act 1996.
	In essence 'further education' means:
	a. full-time and part-time education suitable to the requirements of persons who are over compulsory school age (including vocational, social, physical and recreational training), and
	b. organised leisure-time occupation provided in connection with the provision of such education,
	except that it does not include secondary education or higher education.
	The Act of Parliament which defines courses of higher education is the Education Reform Act 1988. Schedule 6 of the Act describes courses of higher education as:
	(a) a course for the further training of teachers or youth and community workers;
	(b) a post-graduate course (including a higher degree course);
	(c) a first degree course;
	(d) a course for the Diploma of Higher Education;
	(e) a course for the Higher National Diploma or Higher National Certificate of the Business and Technician Education Council, or the Diploma in Management Studies;
	(f) a course for the Certificate in Education;
	(g) a course in preparation for a professional examination at higher level;
	(h) a course providing education at a higher level (whether or not in preparation for an examination).

Further Education/Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on Sure Start badged higher education and further education courses.

Margaret Hodge: The Sure Start Unit does not badge any qualifications but works with the sector and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to agree the acceptable list of qualifications. As part of the Government's drive to improve the level of qualifications and contribute to the development of the Early Years sector workforce, the Sure Start Unit worked with universities and employers to create in September 2002 the Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree (EYSEFD): a new, vocational higher education qualification at level 4 that leads to a new level of professional practice known as the 'Senior Practitioner'. The DfES, on behalf of the sector, formally recognises whether universities have met the Statement of Requirement for EYSEFD. There are now 44 universities and 96 affiliated colleges across England who offer the EYSEFD.

Further Education/Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the successor arrangements to academic review for directly funded higher education provision in further education colleges.

Alan Johnson: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 657W.

Further Education/Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the process is for accessing funds in the Higher Education Innovation Fund.

Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has invited higher education institutions to apply for funds from the Higher Education Innovation Fund. Guidance published on 9 December 2003 asked for applications to be submitted to HEFCE by 25 February. Assessment of applications will be complete in May and successful applicants will have clear access to funds from August 2004.

Knowledge Exchanges

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the linkages between the research status of a higher education institution and its ability to attract high quality teaching staff.

Alan Johnson: Available evidence on a positive link between teaching and research is inconclusive. There are many examples of Higher Education Institutions in England which attract and deliver high quality teaching without carrying out research. My Department has commissioned a large-scale study to find out which factors are most important in affecting academics' decisions to enter or leave Higher Education Institutions. This research will be published next winter.

Knowledge Exchanges

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to a higher education institution of applying for funding to establish a knowledge exchange.

Alan Johnson: Information on the costs and benefits associated with the proposal to establish a knowledge exchange is contained in the Regulatory Impact Assessment published on 8 January alongside the Higher Education Bill. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment were placed in the Library of the House; it is also available on the Department for Education and Skills website.

Knowledge Exchanges

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on knowledge exchanges; and how much money has been set aside to pay for them.

Alan Johnson: £16 million is being provided for up to 20 Knowledge Exchanges within the overall distribution of the Higher Education Innovation Fund over the two years 2004–05 and 2005–06. Knowledge Exchanges will promote the critical role of less research intensive departments/groups in transferring technologies and knowledge, and in skills development, within local communities of practice.

Personal Advisers

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what sanctions have been imposed by the Connexions Service against personal advisers describing themselves as careers advisers; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: I am not aware of any Connexions Partnerships imposing sanctions on people who refer to themselves as Careers advisers. We have asked Connexions partnerships to avoid a confusion of titles by referring to all practitioners, whatever their specialism, as Personal Advisers. We recognise the important role in the service played by professionals with a careers guidance qualification, but Personal Advisers offer a broader service to young people which cannot be adequately described through reference to a single specialist area.

Research Grants

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total allocation of research grant to each higher education institution in England and Wales was in each of the past six years.

Alan Johnson: The available information is taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) finance records and is given in the table that has been placed in the Library.

School Buildings

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which education authority is regarded by his Department as having the greatest need for renewal of school buildings.

David Miliband: We are in the course of assessing data on the suitability and condition needs of school buildings provided to us by authorities as part of the asset management process and will shortly be making information available. This will help to show the relative needs of authorities' schools in regard to suitability and condition. These needs are however usually only one of the factors that are taken into account in decisions to school renew buildings.

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the demographic changes to the number of students liable to pay top-up fees over each of the 10 years from 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: Demographic changes will mean an increase in student numbers up to 2010. The number of students affected by variable fees will depend on a wide range of factors, including decisions on fee levels to be taken by institutions providing higher education to full-time undergraduates.
	Planned total number of students 2005/06 to 2007/08 will be set as part of the current spending review which will conclude later this year.

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the governance structure is of the Student Loans Company; and whether it is an incorporated body.

Alan Johnson: The Student Loans Company is incorporated under the Companies Acts 1985. It has been designated an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) by the Cabinet Office. The arrangements for internal governance are set out in its annual report which is placed in both Houses of Parliament Libraries.

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much grant he has provided to higher education institutions for foundation degree students in this financial year.

Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Funding Council for England estimate that they will make £59 million available to higher education institutions for foundation degree students in the current academic year.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England is responsible for distribution of funding to higher education institutions for foundation degree courses. The Council funds higher education institutions on the basis of academic years (August to July), therefore the figures provided relate to August 2003 to July 2004.

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what powers he plans to take to restrict the level of fee charged for a foundation degree;
	(2)  what his policy is on the charging of tuition fees to foundation degree students.

Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Bill contains powers that will enable us, from 2006, to limit the level of fees for all degrees, including foundation degrees, to no more than £3,000, provided a higher education institution has an access agreement approved by the Office for Fair Access, or to a basic amount—expected to be £1,200—if a higher education institution does not have an access agreement.
	Students taking foundation degrees will be subject to tuition fees on the same basis as students on other full time undergraduate courses.

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial support he plans to make available from his Department to mature students in higher education institutions.

Alan Johnson: Our proposals for 2006/07 are designed to help higher education students generally but one in particular will be of especial help to mature students. We expect a third of all those getting the grant of £2,700 to be independent students although they are a much smaller percentage of all students. Mature students will also benefit from the increases in the levels of student loans, the raising of the repayment threshold from £10,000 to £15,000 and the 25-year cap on the repayment period.
	Existing targeted support already helps certain mature students who are eligible for a range of additional grants such as the child care grant and parent's learning allowance, for student parents, the disabled students allowance and the adult dependants grant dependants grant. In addition, student parents are eligible to receive child tax credit from the Inland Revenue.

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total estimated cost is of educational maintenance allowances in each of the next three years.

Ivan Lewis: The estimated cost of the national EMA scheme for each of the next three years is:
	2004–05—cost £238 million—estimated number of young people on EMA 274,000
	2005–06—cost £374 million—estimated number of young people on EMA 390,000
	2006–07—cost £462 million—estimated number of young people on EMA 439,000

PRIME MINISTER

Antarctic

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with (a) the President of the United States and (b) others regarding the protection of the Antarctic from physical exploitation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I regularly have discussions with President Bush and others on a wide range of international issues including on the environment.
	However, I have not had any recent discussions regarding the protection of the Antarctic environment from physical exploitation.
	The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty sets out a framework for the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment, including from physical exploitation. Under the Protocol, all activities within Antarctica must be planned and conducted as to limit adverse impacts on the Antarctic environment. The Antarctic Act 1994 ensures adherence to the provisions of the Protocol within the UK.

BBC

Roger Gale: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of his letter dated 19 March 2003 to Mr. Greg Dyke in his capacity as Director General of the BBC;
	(2)  if he will list the telephone calls made by Mr. Alastair Campbell to members of BBC staff between 12 March 2003 and 14 April 2003.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin) in the debate on Lord Button's report on 4 February, Official Report, column 768.

Business Social andEnvironmental Impact Reports

Andy King: To ask the Prime Minister if he will restate his challenge of October 2000 that all the FTSE 350 companies should publish annual environmental reports by the end of 2005.

Tony Blair: I still believe that our largest companies should take up the challenge of publishing annual environmental reports. The White Paper on Modernising Company Law (CM5553) published in July 2002 included a proposal to require economically significant companies to include information on environmental, social and community issues amongst others in a new Operating and Financial Review, where these issues are judged by directors to be essential to an understanding of the company's business. This should provide further encouragement for directors to consider seriously their company's impact on the environment.

Butler Committee

Ian Gibson: To ask the Prime Minister what selection procedures were used to appoint the chair to the committee investigating intelligence sources in the events before the invasion of Iraq; and what assessment he made of the views of prospective members of the committee on whether the Government was right to go to war when deciding on its composition.

Tony Blair: Following precedent, I chose individuals of standing and relevant experience including members of the Intelligence and Security Committee to conduct this task. I am very grateful to Lord Butler and the members of his Review team for agreeing to undertake this task. I made no assessment of their views on the decision to go to war in Iraq.

Butler Committee

William Cash: To ask the Prime Minister whether he intends Lord Butler's Committee to report on differences between (a) the intelligence gathered, evaluated and used by the Government before the conflict and (b) the intelligence and what has been discovered by the Iraq Survey Group since the end of the conflict.

Tony Blair: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw), set out the terms of reference for Lord Butler's review on 3 February 2004, Official Report, columns 625–28. It is for Lord Butler to determine, within those terms of reference, the scope of his report.

Departmental Minutes

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister what action he is taking to ensure that civil servants take full and adequate minutes of meetings involving himself.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) during my evidence to the Liaison Committee on 3 February 2004.

Freedom of Information Act

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister if he will implement recommendation 8.1 of the Independent Review of Government Communications, on the use by Ministers of the right of veto with regard to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 19 January 2004, Official Report, columns 50–51WS.

Greyhounds (Northern Ireland)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Prime Minister which Minister is responsible for the welfare of racing greyhounds in Northern Ireland; and what proposals there are to include the welfare of greyhounds in forthcoming legislation.

Tony Blair: Under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 all animals are protected from unnecessary cruelty or suffering though there are no specific provisions on the welfare of racing greyhounds. This Act is administered by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland for which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Pearson) is currently the responsible Minister. There are no proposals to introduce legislation on the welfare of greyhounds in Northern Ireland.

Honours System

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister what steps he is taking to improve transparency surrounding the honours system.

Tony Blair: The Cabinet Secretary has asked Sir Hayden Phillips to lead a review of the honours system. This review will look at ways in which the system can be made more open and transparent, while maintaining the necessary confidentiality about individuals involved in it. I look forward to receiving their findings.

Hutton Inquiry

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister what efforts have been made to identify the three additional sources of information within the wider intelligence community mentioned by Mr. Andrew Gilligan in his evidence to the Hutton Inquiry.

Tony Blair: Mr. Gilligan's evidence to the Hutton Inquiry is a matter for him.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the complete report of the Iraq Survey Group.

Tony Blair: The report is the responsibility of the United States authorities, specifically the Director of Central Intelligence. Publication of the complete report is a matter for them.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister for what reason, following intelligence assessments by the Joint Intelligence Committee in October and December 2002 and in March 2003, the Government did not support the request by UN inspectors for more time to complete their searches.

Tony Blair: As I have said previously, Iraq was in material breach of 23 out of 27 obligations set by 9 UN Security Council resolutions over 12 years. The primary objective of UN Security Council resolution 1441 was the disarmament of Iraq and made clear that compliance must be full, unconditional and immediate, including the requirement to co-operate fully with the weapons inspectors.
	Iraq ignored that requirement; what co-operation it offered was grudging and partial, and was outweighed by the obstacles it raised to the inspectors' work. In light of this, we concluded that the UN weapons inspectors would never be able to complete the task allocated to them by the Security Council under resolution 1441.
	As I made repeatedly clear at the time, the issue was not about time, it was about full co-operation. If the Iraqi regime had been co-operating, the inspectors could have had more time.
	And as the evidence from Dr. David Kay to the US Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Iraqi WMD and related programmes on 28 January 2004 made clear, in his opinion: "All I can say is that among an extensive body of UN—of Iraqi scientists who were talking to us, they have said: "The UN interviewed us. We did not tell them the truth. We did not show them this equipment. We did not talk about these programs. We couldn't do it as long as Saddam was in power." I suspect regardless of how long they had stayed, that attitude would have been the same". Full transcripts of this evidence have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what efforts have been made by the Government to interview (a) Scott Ritter, (b) Hans Von Sponeck, (c) Denis Halliday and (d) Tun Myat in relation to Iraqi military capabilities and intentions.

Tony Blair: The Iraq Survey Group is interviewing anyone who it believes will be able to help its enquiries. It has not interviewed any of these individuals. Any relevant information which they may have had was made available to the United Nations.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements he has put in place to monitor evidence presented to the United States Administration's inquiry into the intelligence on Iraq's military programme.

Tony Blair: We shall be monitoring the US inquiry closely.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister which hon. and right hon. Members were (a) asked by him to comment on a draft version of the September dossier, (b) given a briefing by Sir John Scarlett in advance of publication and (c) given an advance copy pre-publication.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn) on 18 September 2003, Official Report, column 870W, and on 15 October 2003, Official Report, columns 233–34W. My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith) was also briefed on 19 September 2002.
	In addition, members of the Cabinet were provided with an advance copy of the dossier prior to its publication.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister whether a complete list of those who were asked to comment on draft versions of the 24 September dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was provided to members of the Intelligence and Security Committee for the purpose of its inquiry published in September 2003 on weapons of mass destruction and intelligence assessment.

Tony Blair: No. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) did not request such a list.

Lisbon Agenda

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what actions he has taken to take forward the Lisbon Agenda.

Tony Blair: The UK is one of the most active supporters of the Lisbon Agenda. We are working closely with the Irish Presidency to ensure the Spring Council delivers concrete conclusions which will push forward economic reform in Europe. We will also be using the Summit on 18 February with France and Germany to boost progress in this field.
	The Treasury will issue a detailed review of progress against Lisbon commitments in the next few weeks. Copies will be placed in the House Library.

Minister of State (Transport)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Prime Minister if he will dismiss the Minister of State at the Department for Transport.

Tony Blair: No.

Ministerial Gifts

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the gifts received by Ministers between January 1998 and June 2001 in accordance with the recommendation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in her report of 7 July 2003.

Tony Blair: In March 2003, I published a list of all gifts received by Ministers since June 2001 valued at more than £140. Copies of the list are available in the Library of the House. The Government are also committed to publishing a list of gifts valued at more than £140 on an annual basis. The list of gifts for 2003–04 will be published as soon as possible after the end of this financial year.
	The Government's position on the publication of gifts received by Ministers between January 1998 and June 2001 remains as set out in paragraph 43 of the sixth report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (session 2002–03).

Ministerial Visits

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister when he next plans to make an official visit to (a) Denmark and (b) Sweden.

Tony Blair: I have no current plans to do so.

Public Holidays

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make 21 October 2005 a National Public Holiday.

Tony Blair: Although such requests for public holidays are kept under constant review, at present there are no current plans to change the pattern of public holidays.

Remembrance Wreaths

James Gray: To ask the Prime Minister which departmental budget pays for the wreath which he lays at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.

Tony Blair: This is the responsibility of the Prime Minister's Office which comes under the departmental budget of the Cabinet Office.

United States

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister when he last spoke with the United States (a) President and (b) Secretary of State.

Tony Blair: I regularly have discussions with President Bush and others on a wide range of international issues. As with previous Administrations, it is not the practice of this Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign governments.

Water Pricing

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Prime Minister what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the periodic review of water pricing, with particular reference to the cost of environmental measures.

Tony Blair: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects and will continue to do so. As with previous Administrations, it is not my practice to provide details of confidential discussions, under exemption 2 of the code of practice on access to Government information.

HEALTH

Alzheimer's

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, following the Ombudsman's ruling in the case against Cambridgeshire Health Authority on the funding of Alzheimers sufferers, he will give guidance that primary care trusts should take into account the psychological needs of people suffering from dementia and residing in residential homes in making NHS assessments.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no current plans to issue further guidance on continuing care.
	The current guidance (HSC: 2001/015: LAC (2001)18) makes clear at Annex C that one of the issues to consider when establishing criteria for continuing care is whether the individual has 'a medical, physical or mental health condition' which may require National Health Service care.

Angiography

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of waiting times for angiography were in each of the last six years.

Melanie Johnson: The average length of waiting times for angiography for the last six years are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Mean waiting time for angiography (days) Angiograms (finished consultant episodes) 
		
		
			 1997–98 96.6 82,408 
			 1998–99 98,7 94,631 
			 1999–2000 90.7 99,170 
			 2000–01 98.4 108,739 
			 2001–02 97.8 113,847 
			 2002–03 104.1 124,353 
		
	
	The Government set explicit targets for reductions in angiography waiting times for the first time ever last year and no one will wait more than nine months by March 2004.
	£65 million from the New Opportunities Fund and £60 million from the Department of Health is being invested to enable the rapid expansion of facilities for angiography, to fund more than 89 new or replacement catheterisation laboratories. This will help meet the target of a six-month maximum wait by the end of 2005.

Anti-depressants and Ritalin

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of prescribing (a) anti-depressant drugs and (b) Ritalin was for each year since 1985–86; what his estimate is of the cost for 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of prescription items and the net ingredient cost of all anti-depressant drugs, and all Ritalin drugs dispensed in the community in England, from 1985 to 2003–04 (April to September only) has been placed in the Library.
	The Department of Health does not estimate prescription figures. However, data for both antidepressant drugs and for Methylphenidate Hydrochloride appear to be a rising trend, and the data for the first half of 2003–04 suggest that the total 2003–04 figure will be higher than the 2002–03 figure.

Barking, Havering andRedbridge Hospitals NHS Trust

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the board members of Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last four years.

Rosie Winterton: The people who have served on the board of the trust since its establishment in June 2000 are:
	Past Board Members
	Mr. Vijay Vasu (Chair—from establishment to April 2003)
	Mr. Terry Williams (non-executive—from establishment in 2000 to July 2003);
	Mrs. Hilda Aitken (non-executive—from establishment to November 2003)
	Mrs. Yvonne Cornell (non-executive—from establishment in 2000 to November 2003)
	Dr. Mary Springham (non-executive—from establishment in 2000 to 31 January 2004)
	Current Board Members
	Mr. Ian Kirkpatrick (Chair—from 1 August 2003)
	Dr. Faiz Alam Noor (non-executive—from January 2001)
	Mr. John Griffin (non-executive—from January 2004)
	Mr. Mark Hicks (non-executive—from January 2004)
	Ms Alison Ward (non-executive—from January 2004)

Barking, Havering andRedbridge Hospitals NHS Trust

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been made to Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last four years; and how many have been upheld.

Rosie Winterton: The Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals National Health Service Trust was formed as a result of a merger of the Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust and the Havering Hospitals NHS Trust on 1 April 2001. Figures for complaints made to each organisation are shown in the table. Information on complaints upheld is not collected centrally.
	
		Complaints made to Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 1999–03
		
			  Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust Havering Hospitals NHS Trust Redbridge Health Care NHS Trust 
		
		
			 1999–2000 — 547 566 
			 2000–01 — 540 628 
			 2001–02 (11)— — — 
			 2002–03 975 — — 
		
	
	(11) Not available.

Care Direct Scheme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons his Department did not roll out the Care Direct scheme.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given him on 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 64W.

Children's Nurses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many different types of children's specialist nurse there are.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department of Health does not hold this information centrally.
	The Nursing and Midwifery Council only records the following post-registration specialist qualifications relevant to children: school nursing and community children's nursing. There are a wide range of children's specialist nurses working in the National Health Service in posts developed in response to local needs, for example: specialists in intensive care; neonatology; dermatology; child protection and diabetes.

Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter of the hon. Member for Northavon of 8 September 2003 (his reference PQ 1035979), on behalf of Mrs. Ruth Davis.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 30 January 2004
	A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 29 January 2004.

Delayed Hospital Discharge

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost of setting up operational, financial and computer systems to manage the fining system for bed blocking;
	(2)  how many extra care management staff have been employed to manage the fining system for bed blocking, broken down by (a) strategic health authority and (b) local authority;
	(3)  how much local authorities have been charged in fines for delayed discharge in January, broken down by local authority;
	(4)  how many beds are classified as fineable and could potentially attract charges for delayed discharge.

Stephen Ladyman: The cost of fulfilling the requirements of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 was estimated at £5.5 million in the regulatory impact assessment for the Bill. Most of this cost is around improving the communication between the national health service and social services so that each patient's discharge is planned as effectively as possible. Financial systems for charging will be a small part, and minimal in areas where performance is good.
	Care management staff do not manage the system of charging; they assess and arrange the care that people need. There is no central record of the number of additional care managers who have been recruited to improve the quality and timeliness of the care packages which patients receive.
	I refer the hon. Member to my response to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 5 February 2004, Official Report, column 1064W on the payment of charges in January.
	Charges for delayed discharge are based on the patient, not the bed which they are occupying, so numbers will vary depending on the patients in hospital. Currently, charges are potentially payable for a patient who has been receiving acute hospital care and needs community care services from social services in order to be safely discharged. There is only a liability for a charge when that patient is delayed solely because of a lack of social services.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of dental academics teaching dental students in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of dental academics in each year since 1990 is not held centrally. A survey undertaken by Universities UK in 2001 showed that there were 476 academic posts in the 15 dental schools in the United Kingdom.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the problem of clinical dental technicians illegally performing dental procedures in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many prosecutions of clinical dental technicians working illegally in the UK there were in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the number of prosecutions for illegal dental practice undertaken by the General Dental Council (GDC). These do not all involve technicians.
	
		General Dental Council: illegal practice prosecutions 2002–04
		
			  Total prosecutions Total convictions 
		
		
			 2000 3 3 
			 2001 20 19 
			 2002 7 7 
			 2003 10 9 
			 2004 2 1 
		
	
	The Department is working with the GDC to provide for the registration of appropriately trained clinical dental technicians. An Order to amend the Dentists Act 1984 is being drafted under Section 60 of the Health Act 1999 which, after the necessary consultations, will be laid before Parliament later this year.

General Practitioners

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there were per head of population in (a) Brent East, (b) Brent Primary Care trust area, (c) London and (d) England on the latest date for which figures are available.

John Hutton: The latest comparative figures available for general practitioners (GP) in England, London and Brent primary care trust (PCT) is for 2001 and is shown in the table.
	Between 2001 and 2002 the number of whole-time equivalent GPs in Brent PCT has increased by 15.
	The Department of Health collects figures by PCT only, not by constituency.
	
		General Medical Practitioners per 100,000 population -- Estimated whole-time equivalents
		
			 England as at30 September2001 All practitioners(12) Population Practitioners per 100,000 population 
		
		
			  
			  
			 England 28,854 49,389,736 58.4 
			 Of which:
			 London 4,261 7,307,911 58.3 
			 Of which:
			 Brent PCT 167 263,629 63.4 
		
	
	(12) All Practitioners include GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.
	Notes:
	WTE data has been estimated using the results from the 1992–93 GMP Workload Survey;
	Full-time = 1.00 wte; three quarter time = 0.69 wte; job share = 0.65 wte; half time = 0.60 wte.
	Source:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics 2001 ONS Population Census.

Height and Weight Monitoring (Young Children)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy for the (a) height and (b) weight of (i) pre-school, (ii) infant school and (iii) junior school children to be monitored on a regular basis.

Stephen Ladyman: Height and weight measurements in early childhood form a part of the child health surveillance programme. Intervals between checks are determined by the primary health care team in the light of professional judgement. Height and weight monitoring after school entry is undertaken on a selective basis when there is concern about a child's health or growth.

Life Expectancy

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the effect of obesity on life expectancy; and what research his Department has commissioned into projected levels of life expectancy of the population of the UK in this century.

Melanie Johnson: The National Audit Office report, Tackling Obesity in England, published in 2001, found that deaths linked to obesity shortened life by an average of nine years.
	The Government Actuary's Department report, published in December 2003, projected the average life expectancy at birth would increase from 75.9 years in 2002 to 81.0 in 2031 for men and from 80.5 years to 84.9 years for women over the same period.

Mindnseek Website

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hits have been recorded for the website mindnseek.net since it was established; and what evaluation of the project has been undertaken.

Rosie Winterton: From its launch in February 2003 until October 2003 (the most recent time for which figures are available), there were 3,179,390 hits for the mindnseek website. The average time spent on the site in this time was 41 minutes.
	Evaluation of the Read the Signs campaign, of which the mindnseek website is a component, was conducted between March and April 2003. A copy of the Report of Findings has been placed in the Library. Further evaluation of the website will be carried out as part of the overall "mind out for mental health" campaign evaluation at the end of the current financial year.

NHS Bank

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) budget, (b) turnover and (c) outturn was for the NHS Bank in each of the last three years.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		NHS Bank Special Assistance for last three years -- £ million
		
			  Budget Allocated Expenditure 
		
		
			 2001–02 0 0 0 
			 2002–03 100 100 100 
			 2003–04 152 152 152

NHS Budgets

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to ensure that primary care trusts serving areas where targets for additional housing have been set under the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's community plan will be provided with sufficient (a) revenue and (b) capital funding to meet consequential changes in demand for health services;
	(2)  what steps are being taken to meet budget requirements of each primary care trust serving areas of expanding population in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06.

John Hutton: Revenue allocations for the provision of healthcare, made to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2003–04 to 2005–06 were announced on 11 December 2002. There are no plans to revisit these allocations.
	Any changes in PCT population figures will be taken into account for the next round of allocations. Preparatory work for the next allocations round, covering the period up to 2007–08, will commence shortly.
	The Department of Health has started to analyse the impact on health care need of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister growth area initiative. This is ongoing work and we are still considering the appropriateness of providing additional funding for these areas.

NHS Buildings

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards the target of reducing the value of NHS building backlog maintenance by 25 per cent. by 2004.

John Hutton: NHS Estates collects data on backlog maintenance from national health service trusts through its Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC). The latest data relate to 2002–03 and these remain the subject of a statistical validation exercise which will be completed shortly. Once the validation exercise is complete I will write to the hon. Member.

NHS Governance

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria the Health Ombudsman uses in deciding whether to investigate a complaint against a health authority; and what assessment the Ombudsman makes of convenors' reports in making decisions about investigating complaints.

Rosie Winterton: This is a matter for the Health Service Ombudsman.

NHS Governance

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issues to health authorities on the timescale for dealing with complaints.

Rosie Winterton: Guidance on the operation the national health service complaints procedure was issued in March 1996, including details on the performance targets for dealing with complaints. The guidance is available on the Department's website at www. doh.gov.uk/complaints.

NHS Trusts

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rules govern recruitment by the Department of people appointed to run trust franchises before their contract has expired.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 6 February 2004
	All external recruitment into the Department is governed by the provisions of the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code.

NHS Waste Site Thefts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on thefts of (a) controlled drugs and (b) time-expired pharmaceuticals from sites disposing of NHS waste.

John Hutton: Controlled drugs or pharmaceuticals for disposal are defined as special waste and must only be disposed of at waste disposal sites licensed by the Environment Agency (EA) to dispose of special waste. The national health service is required to complete consignment notes as part of the waste disposal audit procedure required by the EA. Although there is an expectation that the NHS will undertake periodic checks to ensure that this waste is properly disposed of, the prime responsibility for guarding against thefts at the waste disposal sites rests with the waste disposal contractor.

NICE

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland about the extension of National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines to Northern Ireland; what criteria are involved in deciding whether a guideline will be extended; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Officials in the Department have had preliminary discussions with their Northern Ireland counterparts about the development of links between the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Northern Ireland. No conclusions have yet been reached.
	NICE guidance is freely available on its website and can be adopted by any Government or health service that wishes to do so.

NICE

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish a dedicated investigation into the implementation by NHS trusts of National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance.

Rosie Winterton: We have no plans to establish such an investigation. The National Cancer Director is currently reviewing the uptake of cancer drugs approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). The Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) will inspect against healthcare standards, which are currently under development and these are likely to require National Health Service treatment and care to be based upon nationally agreed best practice and guidance, including that issued by NICE.

Nurses

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses working in the NHS have been recruited from developing countries under (a) memoranda of understanding and (b) bilateral agreements with other countries in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: holding answer 26 January 2004
	The Department signed a memorandum of understanding with the Philippine Government last year. To date, the national health service has recruited 176 nurses directly through the agreement.
	The Department has an agreement with the Ministry of Health in India. To date, the NHS has recruited 431 nurses directly as a result of this agreement.
	We have recently signed a memorandum of understanding with South Africa to offer South African and English health care professionals the chance to go on time-limited placements to the other country.

Nurses

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses working within the NHS have come to the United Kingdom from developing countries in each of the last five years, broken down by country of origin.

John Hutton: holding answer 26 January 2004
	The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register all nurses who work in the United Kingdom and produce a statistical breakdown of their register. An analysis of the register can be found on the NMC website at www.nmc-uk.org.

Orlistat

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescription items of Orlistat were dispensed in the community in England in 2003; and how many children received the drug.

Melanie Johnson: From January to September 2003, 374,300 items of Orlistat were dispensed in the community in England. The number of items prescribed to children is not available. However, in 2002, out of the 541,400 items dispensed, an estimated 3,000 were for children.

Permanent Vegetative State

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests for withdrawal of food and fluid to patients in permanent vegetative state have been (a) made and (b) refused in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: In proceedings where a request has been made to withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) from a patient in a permanent vegetative state (PVS), the Official Solicitor acts as a Litigation Friend of the Patient.
	The Official Solicitor has been involved in a total of 36 cases in the last 10 years, in which a declaration from the court has been obtained that it is lawful for ANH to be withdrawn from a patient in PVS. The breakdown according to the year is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year Number of declarations 
		
		
			 1993 1 
			 1994 3 
			 1995 4 
			 1996 2 
			 1997 3 
			 1998 5 
			 1999 1 
			 2000 7 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 4 
			 2003 3 
		
	
	There have not been any such cases which have reached the court for a decision and a declaration has not been granted.

Prescription Charges (Exemption)

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to determine which diseases warrant prescription charge exemption.

Rosie Winterton: The list of medical conditions conferring prescription charge exemption was introduced in 1968. It was agreed in discussion with the medical profession. We have no plans to change it.

Renal Services

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will launch the modernisation programmes he announced to support the implementation and delivery of the first part of the Renal Services National Service Framework; whether the programmes will take account of the views of all stakeholders involved in the renal field; whether his Department will be running implementation workshops for primary care trusts; and whether the programmes will be designed to help primary care trusts to meet the standards that need to be met by (a) 2006 and (b) 2014.

Rosie Winterton: The national service framework (NSF) for Renal Services—part one: dialysis and transplantation set out plans for five modernisation programmes:
	re-designing the workforce
	re-engineering elective dialysis access surgery
	re-designing hospital access (patient transport)
	re-designing care plans for partnership and choice
	re-designing the built environment
	Work is in hand to develop the programmes together with key stakeholders.
	Expressions of interest are presently being sought from renal units, with the support of their strategic health authorities, to establish two pilot sites to develop effective workforce models for renal services, focusing particularly on elective dialysis access surgery.
	Pilot sites for improving patient transport services for people needing haemodialysis treatment will be sought later this year. This programme will complement other work to develop a framework of eligibility criteria for all people who use patient transport services.
	A patient conference on care plans and choice was held in December 2003 and the outputs from that are informing the next stage of this programme.
	A new Health Building Note on satellite dialysis units was published on 14 January and further guidance on main renal units and transplant centres will follow later this year.
	We have announced that a renal advisory group is being set up ensure that part two of the NSF is prepared with implementation in mind, and to provide national advice to support the pilot programmes, which will be key to implementation of part one. The advisory group will be able to form a view on how local arrangements are developing and how renal networks are shaping up.

Saxon Square Health Centre (Christchurch)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on which date the health centre at Saxon Square, Christchurch was vacated by the NHS; what steps have been taken by the NHS to dispose of the building; and how much has been spent on (a) security and (b) rates on the property since its vacation.

John Hutton: holding answer 26 January 2004
	Efforts to dispose, by way of auction or private treaty, of this second floor leasehold accommodation continue to be hampered by the restrictive covenants contained within the lease. The health centre was vacated in 1989 and work is on-going to secure an assignee or sub tenant. Figures are available from 1999 and show that some £257 and £73,600 has been spent on security and rates respectively since that date.

Stroke Patients

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many NHS trusts have developed integrated care pathways for stroke patients;
	(2)  how many stroke units have speech therapists working in that unit; and what proportion of their time was spent there in the last period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: We do not routinely collect information on stroke services at the level of detail requested in these questions. The most comprehensive source of information on stroke is the National Sentinel Stroke Audit, carried out by the Royal College of Physicians. The audit was commissioned by the National Health Service in 1998 and was last updated in 2002. The results can be found at http://www. rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/strokeaudit01-02.pdf. There will be a further update of these figures later this year.
	Our major vehicle for improving standards for stroke services is through the older people's national service framework (NSF) which sets specific milestones for improvement by April 2004 of stroke services in primary care trusts, specialist services and general hospitals that care for people suffering from a stroke. Our document, Improvement, Expansion and Reform, which sets for the National Health Service a Priorities and Planning Framework for 2003–6, makes clear that implementation of the older people's NSF is a top priority, and that the 2004 milestone around specialist stroke services is a key target.
	Implementation of the NSF for older people is leading to real improvements in stroke services and making a difference to people's lives. The development of better services and improved standards in stroke care requires the right balance between national standards, provided by the NSF, national clinical guidelines and local control. It will be important to ensure that stroke care services are co-ordinated and fully integrated within a full range of other relevant local services.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Arms Exports

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list (a) arms export licences granted and (b) products exported under such licences to (i) Jamaica, (ii) Morocco, (iii) Nepal, (iv) Russia and (v) Indonesia in (A) 2003 and (B) 2004; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: Details of all export licences are published by destination in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls, copies of which are available from the Libraries of the House. Details of export licences approved in 2003 will be published later this year in the 2003 Annual Report, and details for 2004, similarly in the 2004 Annual Report next year.
	The Government do not keep records of exports made under these licences.

British Gas Survey

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 22 January 2004, Official Report, column 1452, what the (a) name and (b) date of publication of the British Gas survey was.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 29 January 2004
	The survey to which my right hon. Friend referred was the British Gas TIME 4 Survey published in December 2002.

Broadband

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) funding arrangements for and (b) objectives of broadband regional aggregation boards will be.

Stephen Timms: The broadband regional aggregation bodies ("RABs"), together with the national aggregation body ("NAB"), aim to provide better value for public sector customers seeking broadband connectivity and to enhance the availability of broadband (not least in remote and rural areas). The RABs and NAB will join up individual public sector broadband requirements and present them as consolidated requests to the market—delivering better value deals and driving up broadband availability by making it more attractive to telecom companies to make the capital investment necessary to provide broadband in new areas. The Government and public sector is expected to spend at least £1 billion on broadband over the next three years, and the RABs and NAB will help ensure that the most is made of this buying power. The set up costs of each RAB are being funded by a loan and/or grant made by the relevant Regional Development Agency, and thereafter the costs will be covered by an appropriate mark up within the contracts that the RAB negotiates—the aggregation of demand by a RAB providing cost savings which will cover its expenses. Any profits which might accrue to a RAB would be distributed by way of rebate to the customers.

Broadband

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether broadband regional aggregation boards are permitted to apply a levy on existing services included in their activities.

Stephen Timms: Broadband regional aggregation bodies ("RABs") will offer highest available value for money to public sector customers in their region and the costs will include a mark-up to cover their costs. Any public sector customer contemplating novating a contract for broadband connectivity to a RAB will need to consider whether to take the RAB's offer or stay with their existing contract if that offers better terms—no customer will be obliged to pay a levy on their existing contracts if they are not transferred to a RAB.

Broadband

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Government are taking to promote the take up of next-generation broadband networks.

Stephen Timms: At the end of 2003 there were over 3.2 million subscribers to broadband services in the UK growing at 40 000 per week. The majority of these subscribers were using services with downstream specifications of 500–600 kbps. However, most of the major providers offer broadband services for businesses and consumers at 1 or 2 Mbps and some operators offer services at even high specifications. We expect that there will be an increasing demand for higher speed services over the next few years.
	The Government are committed to make use of broadband for the delivery of public services, for example the Department for Education and Skills has set a target for all primary and secondary schools in England to have broadband connections by 2006. As part of its support for businesses adopting information and information technology, the DTI has produced a wealth of material which explains the benefits of using broadband and how it can help business become more effective.

Business Start-ups

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impediments to the formation of spin-off firms from larger firms and universities; and what steps are being taken to tackle such impediments.

Patricia Hewitt: The number of spin offs from UK universities has increased significantly, rising from 28 in 1995–96 to almost 250 in 2000–01. The latest Higher Education Business Interactions Survey indicates that in the academic year 2000–01 248 companies were spun out from UK universities, employing 10,710 people (an increase of 84 per cent. on the previous year) and a turnover of £195 million (an increase of 46 per cent. on 1999–2000). The Government have supported the increased levels of spin-offs by addressing the funding gap between basic university research and private sector investment, which was identified in our "Investing in Innovation" Strategy. This funding gap has been addressed through the University Challenge fund which provides seed funding for Universities to support spin-offs and has now been assimilated into Higher Education Innovation Fund round 2, which was launched in December 2003, with a deadline for bids of 25 February.

Call Centres

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of call centres from other EU countries which have been relocated abroad since 2000.

Patricia Hewitt: There are no sources of data on international labour movements that would enable my Department to estimate the number of call centres which may have been relocated from other EU countries.

Computer Viruses

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated cost to United Kingdom businesses was of computer viruses in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The information is not collected in this way. The DTI works with business to produce a biennial survey of Information Security Breaches. The Survey is intended to raise awareness of the importance of effective information security management. The Surveys do not set out to survey or measure the average costs of internet security breaches, such as virus attacks, but survey the costs of all information security breaches. Based on the information gathered for the 2002 Survey, the figures indicated that serious security incidents cost on average some £30,000 per incident in 2001.
	Work on the 2004 Information Security Breaches Survey is almost complete and the results will be announced at the Infosecurity Europe exhibition on 27 April. I expect the Survey to present some up to date information on the operational impact of virus attacks.

Departmental Budget

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total budget of her Department was in each year since 1992, broken down by department.

Patricia Hewitt: The total planned annual budgets for the Department are shown in the Departmental Report and also in the Main Estimates booklet issued by the Treasury at the start of each financial year. The Departmental Report 2003 (Cm 5916) was presented to Parliament in May 2003.
	Final budgets for each year would have been shown in the Spring Supplementary Estimates for each year, and, for comparison purposes, in the Main Estimates booklet for the following year.

Departmental Staff

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many officials in her Department had responsibility for (a) science, (b) innovation, (c) enterprise and (d) competition for each year between 1997 and 2007 (i) in real terms and (ii) as a proportion of the overall number of officials in the Department; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: We are unable to provide this information broken down in this way for 1997–2004 without incurring disproportionate cost.

Business Relocations

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the number of jobs which may be lost in the United Kingdom over the next five years as the result of the decisions made by British companies to relocate parts of their businesses to other countries.

Patricia Hewitt: We are currently studying a number of reports containing a variety of estimates, as well as submissions in response to the DTI consultation paper published in December 2003. Offshoring is not, however, a zero sum game and it will be important to consider not just the number of potential jobs that may be lost, but also the number that may be gained.

Business Relocations

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with representatives of FTSE-100 companies about decisions to relocate part of their businesses to other countries; and if she will publish the minutes of such discussions.

Patricia Hewitt: On Monday 2 February I hosted a round table discussion with around 50 companies, trade unions and other organisations and academics on the issue of offshoring of UK service activity to other countries. The discussions were held under Chatham House rules, so there were no minutes. There was agreement that the UK cannot compete on labour costs, but must focus on value-added elements where the UK can compete, such as quality of service, proximity to customers, local knowledge and higher skilled work. All agreed that protectionism is not the answer, that location decisions are matters for companies, but that full account needs to be taken of all factors before decisions are made. There was also widespread recognition of the need to make the UK as competitive as possible, both for indigenous firms and to continue to attract inward investment.

Energy Policy

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effect of ghost capacity in the importation of gas and electricity. [R]

Stephen Timms: I understand that my hon. Friend is referring to electricity interconnection with France.
	According to the January 2004 update to national grid's "Seven Year Statement", the England and Wales plant margin (i.e. the excess of total generating capacity over winter peak demand) in 2003–04 is 21.6 per cent. This figure includes the 2GW Anglo-French electricity interconnector out of a total generating capacity of around 68GW.
	The 2004–05 and 2005–06 plant margins in England and Wales are currently projected to be 22.7 per cent. and 22.3 per cent. respectively. Under these circumstances, the French interconnector would account for a lower share of the plant margin than at present.
	The interconnector therefore makes a significant contribution to total generating capacity in England and Wales at times of winter peak demand.

EU Quick Start Programme

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the UK is taking to comply with EU Quick Start programme objectives in broadband networks.

Stephen Timms: The Government believe that the Quick Start initiative is a sensible way for the community to proceed with aspects of Lisbon agenda. The Government have written to interested parties in the UK to canvass interest in the suggested broadband projects and awaits responses with interest.

Gas/Electricity Market

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how electricity prices have changed for (a) industrial and commercial users and (b) domestic users since the introduction of the New Electricity Trading Arrangements.

Stephen Timms: The following table sets out the changes in electricity prices since the introduction of the New Electricity Trading Arrangements.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Real terms Current terms 
		
		
			 Domestic -9.5 +2.1 
			 Industrial -14.3 
			 (-7.3 including CCL) -7.8 
			 (-0.3 including CCL) 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The percentage change is for the period Q1 2001 to Q3 2003, which are the latest data available.
	2. Prices for commercial users are not available.
	3. 'Real Terms' means that the effect of inflation has been removed by using the GDP deflator, an inflationary indicator for the whole economy.
	Source:
	ONS and DTI

Industrial Injury Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken against claim handling companies acting as intermediaries between solicitors and miners with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger who charge up to 25 per cent. of the final award.

Nigel Griffiths: With regard to the work of claim handling agents, we have included in all our publicity material, both in the national and regional press and the Department's miners newsletter, references to the fact there should be no need for any organisations processing claims to charge claimants a fee or deduct any compensation and that if any claim handling firm suggests other arrangements claimants should seek advice elsewhere.
	The Department is aware of the concerns raised about the work of claim handling companies and Lord Falconer, as Constitutional Affairs Secretary, launched a wide-ranging independent review of the regulation of the legal services market in July last year. The review is due to report by the end of 2004 and a consultation document will be issued shortly.

Industrial Participation Agreements(South Africa)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  on what date the official seconded by the British Joint Steering Committee on the Industrial Participation Agreements in South Africa was seconded to the South African Department of Trade and Industry; and on what date the secondment ends;
	(2)  from what Department the official seconded by the British Joint Steering Committee on the Industrial Participation Agreements in South Africa came to the South African Department of Trade and Industry.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	In accordance with an undertaking given by the Prime Minister to President Mbeki, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence seconded an official to the South African Department of Trade and Industry in March 2000 in the role of Offset Adviser. The secondment ended in April 2002. Since that time the UK MOD has supported a part-time Offset Adviser with commercial experience, in accordance with the wishes of the South African Department of Trade and Industry.

Industrial Participation Agreements(South Africa)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will place a copy of the reports made by the official seconded by the British Joint Steering Committee on the Industrial Participation Agreements in South Africa in the Library;
	(2)  how many reports on the progress of the South African industrial participation agreements have been received by the Joint Steering Committee on the Industrial Participation Agreements in South Africa since January 2000.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply
	The Joint Industrial Participation Monitoring Committee has received reports from the South African Department of Trade and Industry, from Armscor and from the Industrial Participation obligors at each of its meetings. These reports have covered both the National Industrial Participation and Defence Industrial Participation programmes. No formal reports were made by the official.

Industrial Participation Agreements(South Africa)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what dates the Joint Steering Committee on the Industrial Participation Agreements in South Africa has met since January 2000.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	The Joint Industrial Participation Monitoring Committee has met on the following dates since January 2000:
	16 November 2000
	10 May 2001
	8 November 2001
	7 May 2002
	26 November 2002
	11 March 2003
	1 October 2003

Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what specific initiatives her Department is sponsoring to promote effective use of information and communication technology.

Stephen Timms: In recent years, DTI has been promoting the effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) through the UK online for business programme.
	Specific initiatives under this programme include:
	a national network of e-business advisers, located in the Business Links
	production of a wide range of impartial, jargon-free information available on- and off-line
	a comprehensive website, offering advice and examples of best practice
	As a result of a decision to restructure business support within DTI, the activities of UK online for business will increasingly be integrated into the wider interests of the Department and the Business Link Organisation. The decision to restructure has been a direct response to feedback from stakeholders and the aim will be to rationalise the wide range of schemes run by .the Department into a small number of coherent and focused products.
	The strategy for DTI, in partnership with industry, will be to underline the business benefits that can be achieved through more effective, sophisticated use of ICT. Businesses need to become better users of the technologies, addressing issues relating to people and processes as well as the technology itself.

Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives her Department is sponsoring to encourage internet connections among micro and small businesses.

Stephen Timms: Recent evidence shows, particularly in the DTI's International Benchmarking Study 2003, that there has now been an end to the "dash for access". Broadly speaking, businesses that want internet connection have got it and the dynamics are now around speed and type of access. The key issue for business is how it can unlock real value from the smarter deployment of ICT.
	As there is still scope for greater numbers of micro and small businesses to become connected to the internet, DTI will continue to promote internet connection as part of the support and advice it gives to SMEs. However, the main focus will be to encourage a more effective, integrated use of ICT so that businesses can exploit the technology fully and gain the full set of benefits that it can bring.
	A copy of the International Benchmarking Study 2003: Business in the Information Age is available in the Libraries of the House—URN 03/147.

Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her budget in 2003–04 is for the promotion of internet use among micro and small businesses.

Stephen Timms: The expenditure for 2003–04 for the UK online for business programme, which promotes internet and ICT use by SMEs, is forecast to be £7 million.

Mobile Phones (Data Protection)

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from mobile phone users on the privacy of the data on them stored by network operators.

Stephen Timms: We have received no representations from individual users.
	However, in 2003 a consultation was held on the implementation of the EC Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive. This consultation included the question: "How should service providers gain consent to processing of traffic and location data and what information should they provide?"
	A number of interested groups responded on this issue and their views were taken into account in the final version. These comments are available via the DTI website along with a copy of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.

Post Office Closures

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what powers she has to delay the proposed closure of a post office.

Stephen Timms: None. Decisions on post office closures and relocations are an operational matter for the company. It would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in determining individual closures. That has been the policy of successive Governments since 1969 when the Post Office was established as a statutory public corporation.

Post Office Closures

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recourse is available to users where the Post Office has acted improperly in a proposed closure.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Every proposal that the company makes for the permanent closure of a post office branch is subject to public consultation in accordance with the Code of Practice on Post Office Closures and Relocations—agreed between Post Office Ltd. and Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services. Postwatch are consulted on every post office closure proposal before a decision is made and there is every opportunity for those affected by a proposal, and the local MP, to make representations to the company or to Postwatch.

Post Office Closures

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Post Office closures there have been in each Northern Ireland constituency in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The Department does not hold such data and this is a matter that falls within the day-to-day responsibility of Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Offices (Stores)

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which (a) convenience store companies and (b) supermarket chains have post office branches located in their stores; how many branches each organisation had located in its stores in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement on the continued availability of such branches in convenience stores.

Stephen Timms: We do not collect the information requested, which is an operational matter for the Post Office. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Printer Cartridge Remanufacturing Industry

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures the Government have put in place to ensure the future of the printer cartridge remanufacturing industry.

Stephen Timms: The Government welcomes the positive contribution of the cartridge refill sector, but do not have any financial support mechanisms specifically aimed at it.

Printer Cartridge Remanufacturing Industry

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Ministers in her Department have met (a) Lexmark and (b) Hewlett Packard to discuss the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; and on what dates.

Stephen Timms: I have not met representatives of Lexmark, but met with Hewlett Packard representatives on 18 December 2003.

Private Non-financial Corporations

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the percentage net rate of return of private non-financial corporations was for (a) manufacturing and (b) services for each year between 1993 and 2003.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Stephen O'Brien, dated 9 February 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the profitability of UK manufacturing and service companies, in each year since 1993.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) First Release "Profitability of UK companies" shows the annual profitability of manufacturing companies since 1970 and service companies since 1989. Data for 2003 will be published on 31st March. This First Release, giving data up to 2002 is available free of charge from the National Statistics Website and is available in the House of Commons Library. The web address of the latest edition is: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/profit0104.pdf

Public Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the total expenditure limit for (a) BTI, (b) the Office of Fair Trading, (c) OFTEL, (d) OFGEM, (e) Postcomm and (f) the Export Credit Guarantee Department for each year between 1997 and 2007.

Patricia Hewitt: This information is set out in "Central Government Supply Estimates 2003–04 Supplementary Budgetary Information" (Cm 5797, May 2003). Figures are available from 1998–99 (the first year for which resource information was produced) to 2005–06 (the final year of the current Spending Review period). The title of BTI was changed in the Winter Supplementary 2003–94 to UK Trade and Investment, and from the Spring Supplementary 2003–04 the activities previously carried out by OFTEL have transferred to OFCOM (Office of Communications), a public corporation.

Radioactive Waste Consultation Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason no hard copy of the consultation paper on proposals for intermediate level radioactive waste substitution had reached either the Vote Office or the Library four days after its official release.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 6 February 2004
	A copy of the consultation document was sent to all MPs on 30 January 2004. Due to an administrative oversight, there was a short delay before copies were placed in the Libraries of the House and the Vote Office.

Radioactive Waste Consultation Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list those persons and organisations who have been sent copies of the consultation paper on intermediate level radioactive waste substitution.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 6 February 2004
	Around 1,600 copies of the report have been distributed to among others MPs, MEPs, the nuclear industry, local authorities and environmental groups.

Radioactive Waste Consultation Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she had been informed of the financial arrangements between BNFL and NAC International when she commissioned from the latter the consultation paper on proposals for intermediate level radioactive waste substitution.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 6 February 2004
	The Department was aware of the financial arrangements between BNFL and NAC International when NAC were commissioned to undertake the report.
	NAC International were chosen following a competitive tendering process in line with Departmental rules.
	NAC is an international company providing consultancy services on a wide range of nuclear issues. We are advised by NAC that its work for BNFL amounts to around 0.3 per cent. of current turnover. Most of NAC's turnover is generated from work conducted outside the UK.

Regional Development Agencies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 28 January 2004, Official Report, column 375W, on Regional Development Agencies, how many jobs were created in each region as a result of foreign direct investment.

Jacqui Smith: The following information is taken from the UK Trade and Investment database, January 2004. The figures are collected on the basis of information provided by companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest, and some of these decisions are not notified to UK Trade and Investment until long after a decision is taken. There is no requirement on companies to notify inward investment decisions to UK Trade and Investment and so the figures include only those projects where UK Trade and Investment or its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice. They are therefore likely to be an under-estimate. As well as jobs created, jobs may also be safeguarded as a result of foreign direct investment. These are not included in the following table.
	
		
			 RDA Number of jobs created as a result of foreign direct investment decisions announced during FY 2002–03 
		
		
			 Advantage West Midlands 197 
			 East of England Development Agency(13) 450 
			 East Midlands Development Agency 1,248 
			 London Development Agency(14) 1,511 
			 Northwest Development Agency 5,925 
			 One North East 703 
			 South East of England Development Agency 443 
			 South West Regional Development Agency 499 
			 Yorkshire Forward 405 
		
	
	(13) East of England Development Agency does not handle inward investment directly but through a sister organisation, Invest East of England.
	(14) Inward investment promotion and case handling of potential inward investors is handled by London First Centre under contract to London Development Agency. Aftercare of existing inward investors is carried out by London Development Agency, working with its sub-regional partners.

Research Funding Gap

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to address the funding gap between public sector support for research and private sector investment in development.

Patricia Hewitt: By 2005–06 the science budget will reach just short of £3 billion, more than double the figure for 1997–8. Moreover, the Chancellor announced in his speech on 26 January that we will make a long term plan for science funding over the next decade a central feature of our 2004 spending review. These demonstrate the Government's strong commitment to an excellent science base.
	We are pressing forward on a number of fronts to address the funding gap between research and commercial exploitation. Direct support to universities and public sector research establishments (PSREs) is being provided in the form of proof of concept and seed corn funding through programmes such as University Challenge, the second round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and the Public Sector Research Exploitation fund. In addition the Government is building up the capability of the research community to interact with business and investors. The recent Lambert Review of business /HEI interaction found that this investment is already succeeding.
	R&D tax credits provide an incentive for companies to undertake R&D, both when work is subcontracted to higher education institutions or public sector research bodies and when work is done by the company itself.
	The Government's Innovation Report (published in December 2003), describes how the DTI will develop a Technology Strategy with business, the SET base, other Government Departments, RDAs, and other stakeholders to identify key technologies with future growth potential. DTI will provide some of the funding and share some of the risks of pulling through technologies in these key areas into the market. In addition, the Research Councils will make plans for increasing the rate of knowledge transfer and interaction with business.

Science and Society Directorate

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 646W, on the Science and Society Directorate, if she will make a statement on the Government's strategy for supporting science that is of social rather than economic benefit; and what the role of the Science and Society Directorate is in promoting the value of science that is without economic benefit.

Patricia Hewitt: In the context of the work of the Science and Society Directorate, 'science' includes engineering, technology, medicine, mathematics and the natural and social sciences all of which have social and economic benefit. Working with and through others the Directorate aims to support activities which address all of these areas such as National Science Week.
	The Government are also supporting social research directly through the Economic and Social Research Council.
	Ensuring that all of these areas are properly addressed is a key consideration when we allocate resources to the science base.

Skills Shortages

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of skills shortages in the United Kingdom.

Patricia Hewitt: Last week I jointly launched the National Employer Skills Survey 2003 which was the largest survey of its kind ever commissioned. A total of 72,100 interviews were conducted with employees from 27 industries. This survey provides robust and detailed statistical information about the extent, causes and implications of England's recruitment problems and skill shortages.
	NESS suggested that at any one time there are 250,000 job vacancies that are hard to fill and of these 135,000 cannot be filled because of skill shortages. The skilled trades are hardest hit by skill shortages and represent 18 per cent. of the hard to fill vacancies due to skill shortages.
	Skills gaps among those in the workforce are more acute with employers stating that almost 2½ million employees (11 per cent. of the total English workforce) are lacking skills needed to do their job effectively.

Sunset Clauses

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her policy on the use of sunset clauses in legislation; and which Acts containing such clauses relevant to her Department were passed in each year since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the replies that I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 24 April 2003, Official Report, columns 110–11W, and the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 1 July 2003, Official Report, column 217W.

Trade and Investment White Paper

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to publish a White Paper on trade and investment in 2004.

Patricia Hewitt: I plan to publish a White Paper on trade and investment later this year.
	The document will set out the Government's policies relating to trade, investment and improving productivity in response to the opportunities and challenges of globalisation both for the UK economy and more widely, especially for developing countries.

UK Company Profitability

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the profitability of UK companies has been, broken down by sector, in each quarter since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Stephen O'Brien, dated 9 February 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the profitability of UK companies, broken down by sector, in each quarter since 1997. (148179)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) First Release "Profitability of UK companies" shows the quarterly profitability of private non-financial companies since 1989. It also shows the breakdown into manufacturing companies, service sector companies and oil extraction companies. This First Release is available free of charge from the National Statistics Website and is available in the House of Commons Library. The web address of the latest edition is http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/profit0104.pdf
	The ONS do not publish estimates of profitability for financial companies or for public corporations. A further breakdown of sectoral detail for private non-financial corporations is not available.

UK Productivity

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the productivity of UK companies has been, broken down by sector, in each quarter since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Stephen O'Brien, dated 9 February 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on the productivity of UK companies in each quarter since 1997. (148176)
	The attached table shows the level of productivity, as measured by output per job, for the whole economy and for the energy, manufacturing and services sectors. The services sector figures are published as experimental statistics on the National Statistics website. All series shown are output per job indices which are referenced to 100 for the annual average of the year 2000. The data shown are from the first quarter of 1997 to the first quarter of 2003 inclusive.
	
		Indices(15) of output per job for the whole UK economy and for three sectors, quarterly since 1997
		
			Sector 
			 Period Whole economy Mining, Electricity, Gas and Water Supply Manufacturing Services 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1997 Q1 94.3 88.4 89.9 94.6 
			 1997 Q2 94.0 88.2 89.2 94.3 
			 1997 Q3 94.6 88.3 90.0 95.1 
			 1997 Q4 95.4 86.5 90.2 96.4 
			 1998 Q1 95.7 86.7 90.5 96.7 
			 1998 Q2 96.0 87.9 90.6 97.1 
			 1998 Q3 96.9 89.9 90.9 98.3 
			 1998 Q4 97.5 91.9 90.9 99.0 
			 1999 Q1 97.4 93.5 92.1 98.5 
			 1999 Q2 97.3 96.3 93.5 98.1 
			 1999 Q3 97.6 100.0 95.3 97.8 
			 1999 Q4 98.3 101.9 96.3 98.6 
			 2000 Q1 99.4 103.7 97.8 99.4 
			 2000 Q2 99.8 102.8 99.3 99.8 
			 2000 Q3 100.3 98.7 100.5 100.5 
			 2000 Q4 100.4 94.9 102.4 100.3 
			 2001 Q1 101.1 95.2 103.5 100.6 
			 2001 Q2 100.8 96.7 102.6 100.6 
			 2001 Q3 101.0 96.2 104.0 100.7 
			 2001 Q4 101.4 96.5 102.9 101.5 
			 2002 Q1 101.6 97.4 103.8 101.2 
			 2002 Q2 102.0 101.2 103.5 101.5 
			 2002 Q3 102.8 96.5 106.0 102.4 
			 2002 Q4 103.4 97.8 106.1 103.0 
			 2003 Q1 103.4 96.2 107.2 103.3 
			 2003 Q2 103.7 95.0 109.7 103.3 
			 2003 Q3 104.3 96.6 111.1 104.2 
		
	
	(15) All indices referenced to 100 for the annual average of the year 2000.

UK Productivity

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the productivity of UK companies with a turnover of (a) less than £1 million, (b) £1 to £20 million, (c) £20 to £50 million, (d) £50 to £100 million and (e) more than £100 million has been in each quarter since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Stephen O'Brien, dated 9 February 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on the productivity of UK companies. (148177)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not currently produce estimates of the productivity of UK companies by turnover size bands. Official productivity estimates are based on National Accounts output data. While it would be possible to use other data to produce measures of activity by turnover size band, such estimates would be in current prices only and would be distinct from official productivity measures. Such current price measures would not be able to be related to the official productivity measures, and could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Abandoned Cars

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of abandoned cars were set alight in the UK in each of the four years before 2001–02 for which figures are available.

Nick Raynsford: In England, the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) conducted a Municipal Waste Management Survey in 2000–01 which estimated that 224,000 abandoned vehicles, recorded for the first time by the survey, were removed and destroyed by local authorities.
	An analysis of national fire statistics shows that in 2000–01 an estimated 15,400 fires occurred in vehicles that had previously been abandoned. This estimate represents 7 per cent. of all abandoned vehicles removed and destroyed, as recorded by the DEFRA survey.
	Figures on abandoned vehicles before 2000–01 are not available.

Area-based Initiatives

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what progress he has made in (a) reducing the number of area-based initiatives, (b) reducing the need for repetitive strategies of area-based initiatives, (c) reducing the administrative burden of area-based initiatives and (d) improving the ease of access by (i) target groups, (ii) community organisations, (iii) business organisations and (iv) local authority organisations to area-based initiatives in each Government Department which has such initiatives;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to (a) reduce, (b) amalgamate and (c) devolve responsibility for area-based initiatives since the publication of the Regional Co-ordination Unit's report on area-based initiatives in October 2002.

Yvette Cooper: The Regional Co-ordination Unit (RCU) led a review of area-based initiatives (ABIs) in 2001 which included the commitment to significantly reduce the number of separate funding streams without reducing the total amount of funding. The RCU published a report in July 2003, outlining plans to reduce ABIs by almost 50 per cent. Copies of that 2003 report are available in the Library of the House.
	The RCU also operates a Gateway for assessing new and developing area-based initiatives to ensure that initiatives are carefully designed to achieve their goals while taking opportunities to minimise bureaucracy, and make links to other initiatives.

Council Tax

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set a 2 per cent. cap on council tax increases for pensioners; and what he estimates the cost to his Department of subsidising a 2 per cent. cap would be.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to set a cap on council tax increases for pensioners. It is not possible to estimate how much such a subsidy would cost in the coming year as this depends on the level of council tax set by local authorities.

Council Tax Bands

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to consult interested parties on the possibility of increasing the number of council tax bands for dwellings valued up to £40,000.

Nick Raynsford: The Local Government Act 2003 provides for a council tax revaluation in England in 2007 based on 1 April 2005 values. As the 2001 White Paper, "Strong Local Leadership, Quality Public Services" made clear, ahead of revaluation, the Government will listen to the views of local government and taxpayers about council tax bands. Decisions on any changes to the banding structure will be taken nearer to the time of the revaluation.

Council Tax Bands

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the width of council tax bands on residents of mobile homes.

Nick Raynsford: The 2001 White Paper, "Strong Local Leadership, Quality Public Services", noted the concern that council tax bands were not fine grained enough to reflect difference in value at the top and the bottom of the property market and acknowledged that residents of mobile homes and other very low value property have added to calls to split band A. The Local Government Act 2003 provides for a council tax revaluation in England in 2007 based on 1 April 2005 values. The White Paper made clear that ahead of revaluation the Government will listen to the views of local government and taxpayers about council tax bands. The Balance of Funding Review has also been considering evidence on possible changes to existing bands. Decisions on any changes to the banding structure will be taken nearer to the time of the revaluation.

Decent Homes Standard

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of (a) council owned housing and (b) housing association properties in each London borough meet the Decent Homes Standard; and what estimate he has made of the cost of meeting the standard by the target date of 2010 for each borough.

Keith Hill: The proportion of local authority owned dwellings in London that are decent and their estimates of cost to make decent, as reported on the 2003 HIP Business Plan statistical appendices, are in the table as follows. Information at the borough level on housing associations is not available, but using information from the 2003 Housing Corporation Regular Statistical Return for London based Housing Associations shows that they have around 15 per cent. non-decent homes.
	
		Decent homes standard
		
			 Authority Percentage of LA dwellings that are decent at 2003 Cost to make all dwellings decent (£000) 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 42 (16)— 
			 Barnet 58 10,387 
			 Brent 49 25,818 
			 Camden 36 306,449 
			 City of London 45 (16)— 
			 Croydon 60 54,664 
			 Ealing 69 31,548 
			 Enfield 69 13,047 
			 Greenwich 18 68,477 
			 Hackney 31 (16)— 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 70 39,088 
			 Haringey 42 49,486 
			 Harrow 48 11,282 
			 Havering 67 7,740 
			 Hillingdon 69 18,586 
			 Hounslow 36 39,126 
			 Islington 36 181,900 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 41 35,282 
			 Kingston upon Thames 50 (16)— 
			 Lambeth 57 (16)— 
			 Lewisham 39 128,414 
			 Merton 68 7,058 
			 Newham 51 143,239 
			 Redbridge 74 2,800 
			 Southwark 52 (16)— 
			 Sutton 58 26,726 
			 Tower Hamlets 25 202,674 
			 Waltham Forest 11 175,890 
			 Wandsworth 88 25,085 
			 Westminster 32 99,774 
		
	
	(16) Cost not provided.
	Source
	2003 BPSA

Drug Treatment Services

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning applications to local authorities for drug treatment services were (a) made and (b) approved in the last year for which figures are available.

Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HMOs

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 (a) Ministers and (b) officials from (i) his Department and (ii) its predecessors have met (A) representatives of Universities UK and (B) individual vice chancellors to discuss their concerns about the mandatory houses in multiple occupation licensing scheme.

Keith Hill: I am not aware that there have been any such meetings, but I would be happy to meet with representatives of Universities UK and individual vice chancellors to address their concerns about mandatory Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing.

HMOs

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place copies of the responses to Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation in England, a consultation paper, in the Library.

Keith Hill: The analysis of responses to the consultation paper on Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation in England as well as the list of respondents to the consultation is already available in the Library of the House. However, copies of the responses will also be made available in the Library.

Housing

Richard Spring: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will provide further funding for debt-free local authorities which did not receive transitional Local Authority Social Housing Grant funding.

Keith Hill: Local Authority Social Housing grant was abolished from 1 April 2003 as part of the measures outlined in 'Sustainable Communities: building for the future' in order to allow a more strategic use of resources. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced additional funding for the transitional arrangements on 21 October 2003. In all £432 million has been made available to debt free local authorities and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to provide further additional transitional funding. Local authorities remain able to provide social housing through resources allocated to them and the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme provides Social Housing Grant to registered social landlords.

Housing

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions took place with representatives of housing associations in the London Borough of Wandsworth on the decision by the Housing Corporation to reduce the number of housing associations that receive development funding.

Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation is currently piloting a partnering programme with a number of Associations. It consulted widely on the pilot prior to its commencement. The consultation included both local authority and housing association representatives.
	The eligibility criteria for the pilot were publicly available and associations were invited to bid to the Housing Corporation through the partnering route.if they could bring added value to the development programme.
	The scheme is a pilot and other Associations are still able to bid through the traditional route, and will be funded if projects meet national and regional housing strategy objectives, represent value for money and are deliverable, subject to available funding.
	The outcome of the pilot might reduce the number of associations developing, however there have been no specific discussions about reducing the number and there have been no decisions made on the future number of developing associations.

Housing

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many housing associations within the Greater London area will cease to receive development funding from the Housing Corporation in 2004.

Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation, in conjunction with Regional Housing Boards including London, are still assessing and considering the bids received for funding through the approved development programme (ADP) for 2004–05 and 2005–06. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not yet taken decisions on which bids to approve.

Housing

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many properties have been provided in (a) the Greater London area and (b) the London Borough of Wandsworth in each of the last five years by the Housing Corporation in its London approved development programme.

Keith Hill: The number of homes provided in the London region and the London Borough of Wandsworth in each of the last five years through funding via the Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  London Wandsworth 
			  (a) (b) 
		
		
			 1998–99 8,518 271 
			 1999–2000 6,675 210 
			 2000–01 6,700 140 
			 2001–02 6,289 130 
			 2002–03 5,501 116 
			 Total 33,683 867 
		
	
	Source
	Housing Corporation Outturn statements

Local Authority Grants

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what relationship his Department has found between the change in central government grants that local authorities have received in 2003–04 and the changes in council tax that they have implemented.

Nick Raynsford: General grants (Revenue Support Grant, Non-Domestic Rates and Principal Formula Police Grant) increased by 5.9 per cent. on a like for like basis between 2002–03 and 2003–04. In the same period the average Band D area council tax increased by 12.9 per cent. Data for individual authorities can be found at http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/0304/changess.xls for grants and at http://www.local.odpm. gov.uk/finance/ctax/ctax034.htm. for council tax.

Mobile Phone Masts

John Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to amend safety limits on mobile phone masts to take account of recent UK and European research.

Keith Hill: The Government does not have any plans to amend the radio frequency public exposure guidelines. Our advice is based on the Stewart Report on health effects of mobile phones and base stations, which recommended a precautionary approach to the development of mobile phone technology. The Government accepted the precautionary approach and has therefore introduced measures to ensure that people's exposures from base stations meet the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). These guidelines are five times tougher than they had been for the public.
	On 14 January the National Radiological Protection Board's independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation published a report entitled "Health Effects from Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields". The Advisory Group reviewed the evidence for health effects from radiofrequency transmissions, especially that published since the Stewart Report on Mobile Phones and Health in 2000. Their report confirmed that "Exposure levels from living near to mobile phone base stations are extremely low, and the overall evidence indicates that they are unlikely to pose a risk to health." However, the Advisory Group also concluded that continued research is needed.
	The Government is keeping the whole area of mobile phone technologies under review in the light of further research.

Mobile Phone Masts

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will give local authorities powers to determine the suitability of sites for mobile telephone transmitters.

Keith Hill: Local planning authorities already have powers to determine the suitability of sites for mobile phone base stations. Current planning guidance on telecommunications is set out in the revised Planning Policy Guidance Note 8: Telecommunications.
	The installation of any telecommunications mast in designated area such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and of a mast of more than 15 metres in height elsewhere, is subject to a full planning application. Certain types of development, such as the installation of ground-based masts of up to 15 metres in height, are subject to a prior approval procedure. Prior approval procedures allow the local planning authority the opportunity to say whether it wishes to approve details of the siting and appearance of the installation. If the authority considers that the development will pose a serious threat to amenity, it is able to refuse approval.
	The Government also strongly encourages telecommunications operators and local planning authorities to carry out annual discussions about rollout plans for each authority's area. Pre-application discussions on a specific development proposal should be set in the context of the operator's strategy for telecommunications development in the area.

Planning Permission (Windows)

Nigel Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to require planning permission for reinstatement of windows which overlook other premises.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to require planning permission for the reinstatement of windows. There is a right to install or replace windows in dwellinghouses without needing to apply for planning permission; this has relieved local councils of a potentially large administrative burden. However, where development requires specific planning permission, Planning Policy Guidance Note 1 says that it might be material to consider the question of 'overlooking' or loss of privacy experienced by a particular resident.

Public Sector Leasehold

David Lepper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the development of a code of good practice for public sector residential leasehold management.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no current plans to develop a code of good practice for public sector residential leasehold management.

Public Sector Leasehold

David Lepper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will consult on the accounting requirement provisions contained in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to consult on regulations relating to the accounting provisions set out in sections 152 and 156 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 in April 2004.

Public Sector Leasehold

David Lepper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how often the Public Sector Leasehold Working Party has met; when it last met; and when he expects it to meet again.

Keith Hill: The Public Sector Leasehold Working Party first met in February 2002. Since then six meetings have been held, the last of which was on 16 May 2003. Dates for future meetings have not been decided.

Public Sector Leasehold

David Lepper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the terms of reference of the Public Sector Leasehold Working Party are; to whom it reports; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The terms of reference for the public sector leasehold working party are:
	1. To identify and review problems faced by social sector leaseholders in relation to the repair or renovation of Local Authority and RSL stock; in particular, any arising from:
	(a) the practical application of forthcoming amendments to Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (to be made by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, when enacted) in relation to costs incurred under long term agreements;
	(b) the framing of regulations under the proposed subsections 7, 8, 9 and 10 and the financial limits to be applied;
	(c) the extent to which leaseholders are required to meet the cost of such works; with particular reference to long standing dilapidation, improvements, grounds and roads and utility services;
	(d) the effect of existing measures to minimise the cost to leaseholders, including the capping of service charges;
	(e) any differences in treatment between different schemes and the rationale for such differences;
	(f) social landlord accounting practices, service charge statements and the maintenance and auditing of Housing Revenue Accounts and analogous funds;
	(g) differences in services supplied by private sector and social landlords, and the services for which public sector leaseholders should reasonably be expected to pay;
	(h) the particular problems of managing social housing stock with minority leaseholder tenure and consider possible solutions.
	2. To consider possible changes to address issues identified under 1. above.
	The Working Party reports ultimately to me through the Head of Housing Private Sector Division.

Retail Premises (Mezzanine Floors)

Phil Willis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to require a full planning application for the approval of mezzanine retail floor space within existing retail premises; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: Section 55(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 excludes from the definition of development works which do not affect the external appearance of a building. As a result, unless the planning permission has a condition specifying the maximum floor space permitted or expressly excludes the provision of a mezzanine floor, or the development is an intensification in the use amounting to a material change in the use, the planning system has no control over such proposals.
	As part of the debates in Committee on the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill, an amendment has been proposed to change section 55(2) to bring such developments within planning control. Ministers have indicated that they take this issue seriously and will consider it further before the next stage of the Bill.

Thames Gateway (Housing)

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the transport infrastructure projects which are required in order to facilitate the provision of 120,000 additional homes in the Thames Gateway in such a way as is consistent with the concept of sustainable communities; and which of those projects has received the Government's commitment that the necessary public funding will be made available.

Keith Hill: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 30 July 2003 that the Government would commit support that would enable the development of at least 120,000 homes in the Thames Gateway by 2016. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be supporting development across the Gateway, with particular focus on five strategic locations; East London Gateway, Greenwich Peninsula to Woolwich, Barking Reach, Thurrock and Ebbsfleet/North Kent Thameside.
	In his statement, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister identified the transport infrastructure projects that are critical to supporting growth. These include domestic services on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, extensions to the Docklands Light Rail (DLR) network and bus transit systems for East and South East London and Kent Thameside.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has approved a consultation exercise by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) on a proposed Integrated Kent Franchise that incorporates CTRL Domestic Services. The Government have asked Kent County Council to develop their proposals for Kent Fastrack Phase 2 and made a provisional offer of up to £200 million PFI credits to support the Thames Gateway Bridge . The Mayor has announced that he is committed to taking forward the highlighted London schemes, however this remains subject to planning and funding.

Thames Gateway (Housing)

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the 120,000 new homes envisaged for the Thames Gateway he estimates will not be deliverable without a major enhancement of flood defences; to what extent further development in the Thames Gateway may be prevented without major enhancement of flood defences; and when the Government expects to (a) agree and (b) begin to implement a programme of major enhancement of flood defences in the Thames Gateway.

Keith Hill: Growth in the Thames Gateway will be largely concentrated on previously developed land in existing urban areas. Concentration of the development on priority areas substantially reduces the requirement for extra flood defences since most of the Thames Estuary is already protected to a greater than 1:1000 year level (possibility of 0.1 per cent. of flooding in any one year) until 2030. This includes a generous allowance for future sea level rise until 2030 and is a far higher standard of protection than in most other parts of the UK.
	There are some parts of the Gateway that do not benefit from defences to this standard, notably the Medway Estuary. However, where development is proposed in such areas, we will ensure that appropriate defence measures are put in place to provide flood risk protection standards as required by Planning Policy Guidance Note 25 on 'Development and Flood Risk'. We shall also seek to ensure that the appropriate design and siting of development is considered through an assessment of flood risk that is required for all Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funded development in the Gateway.
	The Environment Agency is currently conducting a major study, entitled 'Thames Estuary 2100', of flood risk management for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is expected that this will take approximately six years to report, and that proposals for the renewal and possible enhancement of flood defences in the Thames Gateway will be implemented between 2015 and 2035. Much of this improvement would have been required even if no extra housing had been envisaged.

Wind Farms

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what changes he is making to planning guidance with regard to applications to build wind farms; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The Government's proposals for the handling of all types of renewable energy projects through the planning system were set out in draft Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22) published for public consultation on 5 November 2003. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House. The consultation period ended on 30 January. The final version of PPS22 will not be published until careful consideration has been given to all the consultation responses received.

TRANSPORT

Air Traffic Control (Heathrow)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to conduct research into air traffic control delays at Heathrow airport.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for BAA, as airport operator, and National Air Traffic Services (NATS), as the BAA's contracted supplier of airport air traffic control services.

Airline Safety

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what action the Civil Aviation Authority intends to take about official under-reporting of oil fume exposures by aircrews;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the Civil Aviation Authority has details of all (a) defect reports, (b) air safety reports and (c) mandatory occurrence reporting reports during 2003 regarding fume, smoke or oil leak incidents relating to the (i) BAE 146 and (ii) Boeing 757 aircraft.

Tony McNulty: The CAA receives over 9,000 mandatory occurrence reports each year and is not aware of any under reporting of oil fume exposures by aircrew.
	The current statutory framework ensures that the Civil Aviation Authority receives the data it requires on incidents that can affect flight safety. The Air Navigation (General) Regulations 1993 prescribe the mandatory reporting to the Authority of any hazardous, or potentially hazardous, defects encountered during aircraft operations or maintenance. Specifically Article 17(c) requires the reporting of any occurrence involving the impairment during a flight of the capacity of a member of the flight crew to undertake properly his or her functions. In addition, the Civil Air Publication CAP 382 "Mandatory Occurrence Scheme" gives detailed information and guidance that backs up the Air Navigation (General) Regulations 1993. Appendix B of CAP 382 includes a requirement to report each occurrence of smoke or noxious fumes in the aircraft that resulted in the use of emergency equipment or procedures.

Airline Safety

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps (a) his Department and (b) the Civil Aviation Authority have taken to ensure that (i) aircrews and (ii) passengers are fully aware of the need to seek appropriate medical advice and assistance to avoid long term ill health following cabin fume incidents.

Tony McNulty: The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology's report on Air Travel and Health, November 2000, looked into the health aspects of air travel including cabin air quality. Several studies on cabin air have been carried out but have revealed no evidence that fumes would be a hazard to the long-term health of passengers. The Civil Aviation Authority is not aware of any adverse long-term health effects in flight crew that can be traced back to the cabin environment.

Airline Safety

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research the Civil Aviation Authority has undertaken on the chronic low dose effects of repeat inhalation by aircrews of organophosphates and other substances leaking from engine oil into aircraft air supplies.

Tony McNulty: The Civil Aviation Authority has recently investigated cabin air contaminants after a small number of events where flight crew reported the presence of fumes in the cockpit. Other, more broadly-based, international research into aircraft cabin air quality has not shown the presence of organophosphates or any other dangerous engine oil-related substances leaking into the cabin air system on a regular, repeated or continuous basis.

Crew Relief Costs Scheme

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department will revise the Crew Relief Costs scheme eligibility criteria to align them with shipping policy objectives to support the UK register and British seafarers employed in the short-sea sector as set out in the shipping strategy paper, "British Shipping: Charting a New Course", published in December 1998.

David Jamieson: Revision of the eligibility criteria for the Crew Relief Costs scheme requires primary legislation. It will be implemented when parliamentary time is available.

Freight Facilities Grant

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Government plan to extend the Freight Facilities Grant scheme to include coastal and short-sea shipping.

David Jamieson: The scheme already covers coastal and short-sea shipping.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to promote the exclusion from congestion charging schemes of liquefied petroleum gas powered road vehicles.

David Jamieson: We plan to consult on local congestion charging guidance later this year. This will cover the scope for exemptions and concessions at both a national and local authority level, reflecting experience gained in London and Durham.

Number Plate Fraud

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers were victims of number plate fraud, and as a result had to re-register their vehicle, in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

David Jamieson: DVLA issues vehicles with replacement registration numbers for a variety of reasons. No separate figures are available for those replaced as a result of number plate fraud, but it is estimated that the problem is not widespread and that numbers are extremely low.

Number Plate Fraud

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress the Government are making in combating vehicle number plate fraud.

David Jamieson: New measures have been introduced to prevent people from obtaining number plates to which they are not entitled. Since 1 January 2004, all suppliers of number plates have been required to register with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and to keep records of sales. Purchasers are required to produce evidence of their identity as well as the vehicle registration document or suitable alternative.
	We are now working on measures to make number plates more secure and to ensure that they can be clearly and visibly linked to the vehicle on which they are displayed. A consultation paper on number plate security was issued in 2003 and in the light of comments received from the industry, the police and the general public, a shortlist of proposals is being drawn up for further action.

Pensioner Transport Concessions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many pensioners benefit from free travel on public transport;
	(2)  how many pensioners are not entitled to free travel on public transport.

Tony McNulty: In England, there are six areas where pensioners (men aged 65 and over, women aged 60 and over) are offered free concessionary travel on local bus services. These are the London boroughs, Merseyside, West Midlands, Crawley, Reading and Redditch. We estimate that 1.8 million pensioners are eligible for free bus travel in these areas. The remaining 7.3 million pensioners in England are entitled to at least the statutory half-fare minimum requirement on bus services, though local authorities can offer more generous schemes and many provide concessions between half fares and free travel, such as flat fares. Some authorities offer the choice of free travel with a charge for the annual concessionary travel pass as an alternative to the statutory minimum half fare with a free annual pass. Some local authorities offer free travel to older age groups, for example, those aged 75 and over. Some local authorities also extend their concessionary fare schemes to cover other forms of public transport—including the free schemes in the London boroughs, Merseyside, West Midlands and Crawley.
	From 1 April 2003, concessionary fares became available to men aged 60 to 64, bringing them into line with women of the same age. This includes 230,000 men who live in the six free travel areas, though West Midlands PTA is now providing half fares to men and women who reach their 60th birthday on or after 1 April 2003, who will not receive free fares until they are 65. A further 940,000 men live in other areas where at least half fares or better, are available.
	Figures are based on Office for National Statistics 2002 population estimates.

Pensioner Transport Concessions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to stop the system of public transport concessions for pensioners being based on postcode.

Tony McNulty: We do not intend to change the current arrangements for providing local authority concessionary travel for pensioners. The statutory requirement for concessionary fares ensures an equitable minimum level of half-fares on local buses, with a free pass for all pensioners in England. This minimum requirement was introduced in 2001 and has benefited many people where previously there was no scheme at all, or a scheme that offered less than half-fares. Above the minimum requirement, it remains for local authorities to make more generous provision, at their discretion and in the light of their own financial priorities and local circumstances.
	From 1 April 2003 men aged 60 and over have benefited from existing schemes in their area.

Pensioner Transport Concessions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the cost of providing free off-peak travel for pensioners.

Tony McNulty: pursuant to his reply, 29 January 2004, Official Report, c. 468W
	We have made no estimate of the total cost of providing free off-peak travel for pensioners on all forms of public transport. However, we estimate that the additional cost of providing free travel on all local bus services for pensioners would be more than £300 million per year. This does not include the costs of free travel on other forms of public transport. Local authorities in England currently spend around £500 million per year on concessionary travel for all men and women aged 60 and over, disabled people and in some areas, children, on all forms of public transport including, as well as buses, London Underground, other metro and tram systems, some national rail services and ferries.

Railways

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the average number of miles to major overhaul was for each category of train rolling stock in (a) 1997 and (b) 2002;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to satisfy himself that train rolling stock is receiving timely and appropriate heavy preventive maintenance and major overhaul.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available in the form requested because maintenance regimes are complex and specific to individual types of rolling stock. All, however, are agreed between the manufacturer, the rolling stock leasing company and the train operating company, must meet Railway Group Standards and must ensure the level of reliability necessary to provide the service required by the franchise agreement with the Strategic Rail Authority.

Railways

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the role of independent economic regulation in the rail industry.

Alistair Darling: The railway is and will continue to be a public-private sector partnership. The Government attaches considerable importance to investor confidence and the need to preserve and protect the rights of private sector investors and lenders and their ability to plan and finance their businesses.
	The review which I announced on 19 January 2004, Official Report, columns 1075–78, will not change the Government's acceptance of the Regulator's determination of Network Rail's income for the next five years as set out in his December 2003 Final Conclusions and any further conclusions he may reach; and the Government will ensure that the Strategic Rail Authority has sufficient funds to meet its resulting commitments. As I made clear in my statement of 15 December 2003, Official Report, columns 122–24WS, regulatory promises will be honoured, and the Government recognises, and is content, that only the Regulator can re-open his determinations.
	The independence of economic regulation has already been clearly set out in my statement of 19 January. The Government also rules out any change to the rights of third parties, which will be protected. There is no question of weakening the effectiveness of economic regulation. The Government recognises that maintaining fully effective and independent economic regulation is critical for retaining investor confidence. There will be no diminution in the regulatory protection of the private sector investors in the railway.
	The review announced on 19 January will consider how Government can control the total public expenditure on the railways, while respecting the principles set out above. It will also need to consider whether options for changes to the industry structure might imply consequential changes to the details of economic regulation.
	Railways are essential to the economy of Britain. Whatever the institutional structure, the Government will need to be at least as closely involved as it currently is in expenditure decisions and in making financial commitments to the industry and those who finance it; so that lenders to the industry enjoy at least the same strength of financial support from Government as they do today.

Railways (Subsidy)

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total amount of Government subsidy for the railways was in 2002–03.

Tony McNulty: In 2002–03, central Government support to the rail industry was £2,284 million.

Road Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the number of road traffic accidents in which use of cannabis was a contributory factor.

David Jamieson: In a research study on the incidence of drugs and alcohol in a sample of 1,184 road accident fatalities between 1996 and 1999, TRL Report 495, it was found that 13 per cent. of car drivers had traces of cannabis in the body. However, presence of a drug in the body cannot alone be directly related to any contributory role in accidents. In the case of cannabis the research also noted that it may remain traceable in the blood stream for up to four weeks after it is taken by regular users, whereas its effect on driving is probably limited to a few hours at most.
	Routine accident statistics do not record drugs as a contributory factor. But under a pilot scheme on contributory factors begun in 1999 it was assessed that drugs of any kind were a factor in about one per cent. of injury accidents.

Road Accidents

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the number of (a) fatalities and (b) injuries as a result of road traffic accidents on the A54 road between Shrewsbury and Telford for each month over the last 12 months;
	(2)  if he will list the number of (a) fatalities and (b) injuries as a result of road traffic accidents on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Welshpool for each month over the last 12 months;
	(3)  how many (a) fatalities and (b) injuries there were as a result of road traffic accidents on (i) the A5 between Shrewsbury and Oswestry and (ii) the A49 between Shrewsbury and Ludlow, in each of the last 12 months.

David Jamieson: The following tables are taken from figures provided by West Mercia Police.
	
		M54/A5, from M54 J4 (Telford) to A5 Baileys Roundabout (Shrewsbury)—2003
		
			 Month Fatal Serious Slight Total 
		
		
			 January 0 0 1 1 
			 February 0 0 4 4 
			 March 0 0 0 0 
			 April 0 0 2 2 
			 May 0 0 5 5 
			 June 0 0 1 1 
			 July 0 0 3 3 
			 August 0 0 2 2 
			 September 0 0 0 0 
			 October 0 0 0 0 
			 November 0 1 0 1 
			 December 0 1 0 1 
			 Total 0 2 18 20 
		
	
	
		A458 Trunk Road from Churncote Roundabout, Shrewsbury to Welsh Border—2003(17)
		
			 Month Fatal Serious Slight Total 
		
		
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 1 1 
			 March 0 0 8 8 
			 April 0 1 2 3 
			 May 0 1 6 7 
			 June 0 0 3 3 
			 July 0 0 1 1 
			 August 0 0 1 1 
			 September 0 0 0 0 
			 October 0 0 0 0 
			 November 0 0 6 6 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 0 2 28 30 
		
	
	(17) The section of A458 between the Welsh Border and Welshpool is the responsibility of the Welsh National Assembly.
	
		A5 from Baileys Roundabout Shrewsbury to Welsh Border—2003
		
			 Month Fatal Serious Slight Total 
		
		
			 January 0 0 4 4 
			 February 0 1 3 4 
			 March 0 1 2 3 
			 April 0 0 1 1 
			 May 0 0 2 2 
			 June 0 1 4 5 
			 July 0 1 3 4 
			 August 1 4 11 16 
			 September 0 0 3 3 
			 October 0 1 3 4 
			 November 0 1 3 4 
			 December 0 0 2 2 
			 Total 1 10 41 52 
		
	
	
		A49 from Baileys Roundabout Shrewsbury to Worcestershire/Shropshire County Boundary—2003
		
			 Month Fatal Serious Slight Total 
		
		
			 January 0 0 5 5 
			 February 0 0 9 9 
			 March 0 1 5 6 
			 April 0 0 5 5 
			 May 0 0 2 2 
			 June 0 0 6 6 
			 July 0 1 3 4 
			 August 0 0 6 6 
			 September 0 0 7 7 
			 October 0 0 3 3 
			 November 0 2 14 17 
			 December 0 0 5 5 
			 Total 1 4 70 75

Road Accidents

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) serious injuries and (b) fatalities caused by road accidents have occurred in (a) Southend and (b) Southend West in each of the last 20 years.

David Jamieson: Information on road accidents and casualties is not available for Parliamentary Constituencies except at disproportionate cost. Figures for the Southend unitary authority (and borough of Southend prior to 1 April 1998) are shown in the following table.
	
		Fatalities and serious injuries: Southend Unitary Authority: 1983–2002 -- Casualties
		
			 Year(18) Killed Seriously injured 
		
		
			 1983 12 181 
			 1984 14 200 
			 1985 11 232 
			 1986 7 204 
			 1987 25 213 
			 1988 11 156 
			 1989 12 163 
			 1990 12 143 
			 1991 8 97 
			 1992 6 104 
			 1993 4 91 
			 1994 5 111 
			 1995 5 106 
			 1996 4 110 
			 1997 6 121 
			 1998 4 103 
			 1999 11 75 
			 2000 6 100 
			 2001 5 82 
			 2002 6 94 
		
	
	(18) 1983 1 April 1998 borough of Southend, 1 April 1998–2002 Southend Unitary Authority.

Road Humps

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to issue a traffic guidance note on road humps.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport plans to publish, for consultation, a local transport note giving guidance on traffic calming (including road humps) in autumn 2004.

Road Humps

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the damage to vehicles from speed humps; and what compensation is available to the owners of vehicles damaged by speed humps.

David Jamieson: In the mid 1990s, investigations were carried out into the grounding of vehicles on road humps. These revealed that installing road humps 75 mm in height (compared to 100 mm) substantially reduced the risk of vehicles grounding with little or no erosion in the speed reductions achieved. Following anecdotal claims of damage, the Department commissioned, in 2001, TRL to look at the impact of repeated crossing of road humps on vehicles and their occupants. The results of this work will be published later this year.
	Section 90E of the Highways Act 1980 expressly provides that, where road humps or traffic calming measures have been constructed in accordance with the statutory requirements, they are to be treated as part of the highway and not as an obstruction. The road humps should either comply with minimum standards set out in the Highway (Road Humps) Regulations 1999 or otherwise be authorised by the Secretary of State (there is an additional special procedure for authorising road humps in London). If a road hump is not so constructed, it may constitute an obstruction or nuisance in which case an individual may be able to obtain compensation for damages that are attributable to the presence of the hump in the road. A court would determine such liability, if it exists, in accordance with common law principles.

Ryanair Decision

Paul Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what implications for the air services at publicly owned airports in the UK he has identified in the decision of the European Commission in the case affecting Ryanair; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: We will consider carefully all aspects of the case affecting Ryanair at Charleroi once we have received the full text of the European Commission's decision. I note from the Commission's press notice that the decision does not rule out the possibility of start-up funding for new routes at regional airports, provided certain conditions are met.

Sea Cadet Training Posts

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many sea cadet training posts have been funded by the Government in each of the last six years.

David Jamieson: The following numbers of new starters have been funded under the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme in the last six years.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1989–99 498 
			 1999–2000 513 
			 2000–01 472 
			 2001–02 480 
			 2002–03 557 
			 2003–04 (19)566 
		
	
	(19)Estimate. Will be confirmed by year-end return process.

Seafarer Training

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government have spent on seafarer training in each of the last six years.

David Jamieson: The following amounts of funding have been provided under the Support for Maritime Training Scheme (SMarT) in the last six years.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1989–99 1.8 
			 1999–2000 5.7 
			 2000–01 6.3 
			 2001–02 6.4 
			 2002–03 7.3 
			 2003–04 (20)6.4 
		
	
	(20) To date. Will be confirmed during year-end reporting process.

Shipping Strategy Paper

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to carry out an assessment of the progress made in implementing the shipping strategy paper, "British Shipping: Charting a New Course", published in December 1998.

David Jamieson: The progress made in implementing the actions from "British Shipping: Charting a New Course" is monitored during meetings of the Shipping Task Force.

Speed Cameras

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which safety camera partnerships moved cameras for reasons of effectiveness between 1 January and 31 December 2003.

David Jamieson: All Safety Camera Partnerships regularly move cameras between their approved fixed camera housings and deploy mobile camera units flexibly between approved locations at different times.

Speed Cameras

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much money was raised in fines from speed cameras in the last year for which records are available in (a) the East Midlands and (b) West Derbyshire;
	(2)  how much money raised in fines from speed cameras during the last year for which records are available was spent in (a) the East Midlands and (b) West Derbyshire; and how that money was spent.

David Jamieson: The amounts of fixed penalty receipts from speed and red traffic light cameras in the areas covered by the Government Office for the East Midlands for the latest year for which figures are available are:
	
		
			   2001–02 
			  Fine receipts Reimbursed to partnership To HMT 
		
		
			 East Midlands
			 Derbyshire 654,000 502,126 151,874 
			 Leicestershire(21) n/a n/a n/a 
			 Lincolnshire 855,480 486,891 368,589 
			 Northamptonshire 2,967,640 2,247,838 719,802 
			 Nottingham 812,640 778,536 34,104 
		
	
	(21) Leicestershire did not join the scheme until April 2002.
	Note:
	Figures for speed cameras alone are not separately available.
	It is not possible to identify West Derbyshire separately from the county. All fine income surplus to that returned to the partnerships to cover their safety camera activity is passed to the Consolidated Fund.

Speed Cameras

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who appointed the members of the Lancashire Safety Camera partnership; what the length is of their term of office; and to whom they are accountable.

David Jamieson: Safety Camera Partnerships comprise representatives of local police authorities, local highways authorities and magistrates' court committees. The Chief Officer of these organisations appointed the members of the Lancashire Safety Camera Partnership. Each authority and its organisation is subject to their respective provisions for accountability and terms of appointment.

Speed Cameras

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras (a) there are and (b) there have been in each of the last five years in (i) Essex and (ii) the west Chelmsford constituency.

David Jamieson: holding answer 28 January 2004
	The Essex Safety Camera Partnership covers the whole of the county. Separate information is not available for the west Chelmsford area. Details of the number of speed camera locations, for the Essex partnership are:
	
		
			  Fixed locations Mobile locations or routes 
		
		
			 1999 28 44 
			 2000 28 110 
			 2001 28 259 
			 2002 37 219 
			 2003 54 318 
		
	
	Police authorities also have operational discretion to deploy cameras exceptionally at other locations, including "community concern sites" where there is evidence of speeding causing concern to local residents.

Speed Cameras

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the safety camera partnerships in Wales and the revenue that they have raised for each year since they were created.

David Jamieson: There are two Safety Camera Partnerships in Wales. The North Wales Partnership joined the cost recovery scheme in October 2001. In that year conditional offer fixed penalty fines for speeding and red light offences were £648,780. The South Wales Safety Camera Partnership joined the scheme at its inception in April 2000.
	Conditional offer fixed penalty fines for speeding and red light offences were £1,567,000 in South Wales in 2000–01 and £1,876,240 in 2001–02.

Speed Cameras

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic speed cameras there are in each of the areas covered by each of the police forces in Wales; and what the estimated revenue from them is in the current financial year.

David Jamieson: Information on camera activity in safety camera partnerships is not available by constituency areas. The number of approved camera sites in the North and South Wales partnerships for the current financial year is:
	North Wales—66
	South Wales—357
	These figures cover both fixed and mobile speed camera sites but exclude red traffic light cameras.
	The South Wales Partnership consists of three police force areas—South Wales, Gwent and Dyfed and Powys.
	The 2003–04 operational cases for the two partnerships included the following estimated fixed fine receipts:
	
		
			  Total estimated fine receipts (£) 
		
		
			 North Wales 4,280,400 
			 South Wales 7,980,000

Speed Cameras

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2004, Official Report, column 1377W, on speed cameras (Essex), whether the sum of £1,846.480 includes the costs of purchasing speed cameras.

David Jamieson: holding answer 3 February 2004
	Yes.

Speed Restrictions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are used to determine speed restrictions in built up areas.

David Jamieson: The Government provides guidance to local authorities on the setting of local speed limits. The guidance on 20 mph zones and 20 mph speed limits is contained in Circular Roads 05/99. That on other speed limits is in Circular Roads 1/93. Copies of both may be found in the House of Commons Library and on the DfT website.

Tonnage Tax Scheme

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to widen the training requirement for entry into the tonnage tax scheme to include a requirement for the employment of British officers.

David Jamieson: Members of the Shipping Task Force have been invited to submit proposals for an employment link in tonnage tax. We expect to have first sight of the proposals in the next few weeks and they will be considered without commitment.

Train Services (Lancashire)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the most recent figures are for (a) reliability, (b) punctuality, (c) public performance measures and (d) complaints for each train operator operating services in Lancashire.

Tony McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) measures train performance by the Public Performance Measure (PPM), which combines reliability and punctuality. It is published, by train operator, in the SRA's quarterly National Rail Trends (NRT). The latest publication covers performance to the year ending 30 September 2003 and is placed in the Library of the House.
	Until March 2003, complaints data, by train operator, were published in the SRA's six-monthly "On Track" publication. Copies of "On Track" are placed in the Library of the House. In future, complaints data, by train operator, will appear annually in Quarter 4 of NRT, which will also act as an annual compendium of statistics. This will be published in the summer.

Transatlantic Air Services

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress between the European Commission and the United States Administration on liberalisation of transatlantic air services.

Tony McNulty: The next round of EU/US negotiations is to be held in Washington on 17 to 19 February. Some good progress has been made at earlier rounds, but major issues remain unresolved.

Transport and Works Act

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the decision-making process for applications made under the Transport and Works Act 1992; and if he will make statement.

David Jamieson: My Department consulted publicly last September on a package of measures designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the TWA process and we are currently considering the comments received with a view to implementing improvements during the course of the year. A key feature of our proposed changes is that they are designed to secure better and fuller information at an earlier stage. This will, in turn, help to ensure that we can reach decisions more quickly upon receipt of an inspector's report. We also intend to consult in the next few months on changes to the model clauses for TWA Orders, which will help to ensure that applications are in better shape when they come in.

Transport for the Elderly

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the effect of the availability of transport on the well-being of elderly people.

Tony McNulty: The Department has a wide-ranging research programme looking into the transport needs of older and disabled people as well as other vulnerable groups in society. We recognise that a lack of mobility can prevent older people from participating in social activities and lead to low morale, depression and loneliness. It can also impact upon others, such as carers, social services and health agencies. A recent—January 2001—study indicated that the requirements of older people are similar to those of other members of society and major concerns include accessibility of vehicles, safety, reliability and cost.
	We are making significant headway in all these areas, in particular in the provision of accessible public transport vehicles—for example, over a third of buses used on scheduled services are now fully accessible—and have introduced a provision under the Transport Act 2000 that guarantees pensioners and disabled people an entitlement to at least half-fares or better on local bus services, with the travel pass being free of charge.

Vehicle Excise Duty

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the extent to which vehicle excise duty reflects the environmental impact of different models of vehicle.

David Jamieson: The graduated Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) regime, which was introduced in March 2001, is designed to encourage motorists to choose less polluting vehicles by giving clear signals to them about the environmental impacts of their car purchasing decisions. Its primary aim is to incentivise the purchase of the most fuel-efficient cars, as a way of helping to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from the transport sector. It is also designed to reflect the different emissions of local air pollutants from diesel, petrol and alternatively fuelled cars. As with all taxes, the Government keeps VED under review, and since the introduction of the scheme we have introduced a number of modifications to give greater incentives to those who purchase the most fuel-efficient vehicles. As the Chancellor announced in his Pre-Budget Report in December 2003, the Government is currently considering how the effectiveness of the scheme might be further improved.

Vehicle Excise Duty

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the level at which vehicle excise duty is charged.

David Jamieson: During the last 12 months my department dealt with 265 pieces of correspondence concerning VED from Members of Parliament the public and organisations.
	Most of the correspondence dealt with two matters:
	(a) enforcement of VED, and
	(b) whether existing exemptions from payment of VED might be extended to particular groups of motorists or classes of vehicle.
	Very little of this correspondence deals with the level of VED charged. Where it does however, it tends to be by way of suggestions that certain, generally larger vehicles, should be taxed more heavily.

Vehicle Excise Duty

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on vehicle excise duty.

David Jamieson: Vehicle Excise Duty is a tax on mechanically propelled vehicles. It raises about £4.5 billion annually and has two purposes in addition to the raising of revenue:
	(a) Through the licensing process it ensures checking of insurance and MOT documents, and;
	(b) It provides an opportunity to influence vehicle purchase e.g. on environmental and road friendliness grounds.
	Cars registered since 1 March 2001 are taxed mostly according to their CO2 emissions, with VED set for the lowest emitting petrol cars at £55, ranging up to £165 for the highest emitting diesel cars. UK lorry rates are related to vehicle weight and configuration and are some of the lowest in Europe.
	There are a number of concessionary VED rates and exemptions which are sometimes subject to discussion with the various interest groups. While there will always be room for debate at the margins, the Government believes the balance is broadly right between those paying VED at the normal rate for the vehicle, those paying at concessionary rates and those who are exempt from VED.
	We have considerably tightened the enforcement of VED through the "continuous registration" package of measures. By introducing continuous registration and using modern technology, we are improving the accuracy of the register to the benefit of law enforcement and the honest motorist. To deal with short term evasion we have introduced fines for those over a month overdue with relicensing, while tackling those vehicles already outside the system of registration and licensing with enhanced enforcement using wheel clamping and ANPR cameras.
	This should enhance the quality of the DVLA vehicle register so assisting the police in the fight against crime, and also assist local authorities track down and enforce costs against those who abandon vehicles.

Vehicle Excise Duty

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will re-introduce the rolling 25-year rule for exempting vehicles from excise duty; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Chancellor of the Exchequer takes decisions on transport taxation, including vehicle excise duty, on a Budget-by-Budget basis, taking a range of economic, social and environmental factors into consideration. The Government acknowledge the role historic vehicle enthusiasts play in maintaining that part of the country's history and heritage, but need also to recognise the poorer environmental performance of older vehicles. The current exemption for vehicles constructed before 1 January 1973 is designed to strike the right balance between environmental and heritage needs.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Tagging

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are tagged for the purpose of a curfew order.

Paul Goggins: At midnight on 31 December 2003, a total of 8,733 people were currently tagged for the purpose of a curfew.

Anti-social Behaviour

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what advice he has given to (a) police and (b) local councils on (i) the need to liaise with each other, (ii) the protocols for publishing intentions in the local press and (iii) operational protocols in respect of anti-social behaviour legislation;
	(2)  what guidance he has issued to (a) local councils and (b) the police on the use of anti-social behaviour legislation to disperse groups of youths.

Hazel Blears: We have issued a "Together Campaign Pack" which provides information and tools for local authorities, police and other practitioners to run campaigns against anti-social behaviour in their area. It encourages practitioners to keep the public and partner organisations informed and involved in the work they are doing to tackle anti-social behaviour.
	We have also issued Home Office Circular number 04/2004 describing the owers to disperse groups contained in Part 4 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. The circular provides information to assist the police and local authorities in the use of the new powers. The National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE) has been asked to produce further guidance on these new powers. We hope to publish the guidance later this year.

Anti-social Behaviour

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a code of practice for police operations in respect of recent anti-social behaviour legislation.

Hazel Blears: We have published "A Guide to the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003", copies of which were sent to all Chief Constables in England and Wales and Members of Parliament. In addition, we have produced some detailed guidance on the measures in the Act for practitioners, including the police. Examples of these include:
	Notes of Guidance to Accompany Part One of the Act, The Power to Close Premises' where drugs are used unlawfully.
	Home Office Circular 04/2004 on the use of the powers to disperse groups contained in Part 4 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.
	Home Office Circular 01/2004 on the purpose and effect of the firearms provisions contained in Part 5 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.
	Information on when further guidance will be issued on other measures in the Act is contained in the Guide to the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.

Bribery

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are being held without trial or charge in HM Prison Belmarsh; for how long each has been held; how many hours a day they are allowed out of their cell for (a) meals, (b) religious worship, (c) recreation and (d) association; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: 31 foreign nationals are being held at Belmarsh prison in the circumstances my hon. Friend describes. These persons are detained in respect of extradition or immigration matters. Those detained under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 are free to leave the country at any time. The date of arrival into custody for each is as follows:
	9 November 1995
	15 July 1999
	6 November 2000
	21 November 2000
	17 April 2001
	17 May 2001
	4 July 2001
	25 July 2001
	19 December 2001 (three persons)
	8 February 2002
	23 April 2002
	27 September 2002
	24 October 2002
	14 January 2003
	24 May 2003
	12 August 2002
	13 November 2002
	23 November 2002
	27 December 2002
	30 January 2003
	1 September 2003
	5 September 2003
	1 October 2003
	17 October 2003
	7 November 2003
	4 December 2003 (two persons)
	28 December 2003
	29 December 2003
	The general regime at Belmarsh allows prisoners to be out of their cells for an average of 7¼ hours per day. This will include meals, religious worship, recreation and association. Some prisoners will be allowed out of cell for greater periods of time due to the nature of their work.

Burglary (Sentences)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average sentence for (a) house burglary and (b) burglary of a premises other than a house was in each of the last six years.

Paul Goggins: The available information, relating to the average custodial sentence length for persons sentenced for domestic and other burglary (including aggravated burglary) in England and Wales, 1997 to 2002, is contained in the table.
	Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Average custodial sentence length imposed at all courts on persons convicted of offences of burglary, England and Wales, 1997 to 2002(22)
		
			  Average custodial sentence length (months) 
			  In a dwelling In a building other thana dwelling 
			  Burglary Aggravated burglary Burglary Aggravated burglary 
		
		
			 1997 18.1 45.5 8.4 30.7 
			 1998 17.9 (23)46.0 8.6 38.8 
			 1999 18.3 45.5 7.9 39.2 
			 2000 18.7 48.6 8.3 49.0 
			 2001 19.7 (24)50.2 8.4 40.9 
			 2002 20.9 (24)50.1 8.8 45.0 
		
	
	(22) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(23) Excludes one person sentenced to life.
	(24) Excludes three persons sentenced to life.

Coroners

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to regulate the basis on which coroners decide on the re-opening of a case.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 29 January 2004
	We do not intend to regulate this, as it is primarily a judicial matter which should therefore be left to the discretion of the coroner.

Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 18 August 2003 from the hon. Member for Northavon, reference M4678/3, on behalf of Mrs. Davies, regarding victims of crime.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 24 January 2004
	Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC replied to the hon. Member on 2 February 2004.

Crime/Police Statistics (Southend)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders there were in Southend in each of the last 10 years; and how many resulted in convictions.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 February 2004
	Published information on homicide relates to England and Wales only. The latest available is given in Home Office Statistical Bulletin number 01/04, 'Crime in England and Wales 2002/2003: Supplementary Volume 1: Homicide and Gun Crime', a copy of which should be available from the Library or internet site http://www.homeoffice gov.uk/rds/hosbpubsl.html.

Criminal Behaviour

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to tackle the problem of persistent offenders.

Paul Goggins: The Persistent Offender Scheme came into effect in April 2003. It is an obligatory component of Local Criminal Justice Boards' action plans to increase the number of offences brought to justice, aimed at targeting a small group of prolific offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime. Areas have devised their own premium service protocols which include elements of proactive policing, improved investigations and case management, priority court listings, and strategies for rehabilitation. As well as targeting core persistent offenders, who are 18 or over and have been convicted of 6 or more recordable offences in the last year, as part of their wider crime reduction strategies areas are also using the scheme flexibly to target persistent offenders defined on the basis of local intelligence. As well as targeting core persistent offenders, who are 18 or over and have been convicted of 6 or more recordable offences in the last year, as part of their wider crime reduction strategies areas are also using the scheme flexibly to target persistent offenders defined on the basis of local intelligence.
	The Scheme is supported by an information system that is shared between criminal justice agencies, enabling persistent offenders to be tracked as their cases progress through the criminal justice system, and attrition points in the system to be identified and targeted for intervention.
	On 13 November 2003, criminal justice areas were notified of the outcome of a review of the Persistent Offender Scheme. Among the key actions being implemented as part of the response to the review are: changes to the performance measurement framework, including giving credit for performance relating to local persistent offenders; and updated guidance to the National Probation Service on the Scheme, which was issued on 22 December 2003.
	The National Probation Service is piloting 15 Intensive Supervision and Monitoring Schemes (ISMs) for persistent offenders in local probation/police areas. All Schemes involve joint working between probation and police. In addition, some Schemes are testing mechanisms for involving the prison service in pre-release work with persistent offenders. ISMs target the most prolific offenders in a locality, based on police intelligence. They provide intensive surveillance and supervision of offenders, offering fast access to services and support for rehabilitation, alongside swift action and penalties for non-compliance. They involve other partner agencies such as providers of housing, education and training, alcohol and drug abuse treatment groups and employment services.
	In addition, the Government has given the courts new secure remand and tagging powers for 12 to 16-year olds who repeatedly offend on bail, funded the Youth Justice Board's intensive supervision and surveillance programmes for the most prolific young offenders and renewed its commitment to maintain the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders at or below 71 days.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend compensation to victims who were abused or injured by someone living in their household before October 1979.

Paul Goggins: No. Revision of the 'Pre-1.10.79 same roof' rule has been considered whenever changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme have been mooted. However, successive Administrations have always refused to change it.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken to settle applications for criminal injuries compensation was in 2003.

Paul Goggins: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority advise that in the year ending 31 December 2003 the average time between the date an application was received and the date the applicant was notified of the decision on that application was, for the 74,175 cases so determined, 288 days.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for criminal injuries compensation were received in each of the past four years; and what the average award was for each of those years.

Paul Goggins: The following information has been provided by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
	
		The Tariff Scheme (effective for all cases received on or after 1April 1996)
		
			  Number of applications Money awards Nilawards Average award 
		
		
			 1999–2000 78,742 39,700 36,217 2,904 
			 2000–01 76,510 36,924 33,789 3,001 
			 2001–02 78,202 39,813 35,005 3,150 
			 2002–03 73,928 42,283 36,965 3,717 
		
	
	
		The Old (Common Law Damages) Scheme
		
			  Money awards Nil awards Average award 
		
		
			 1999–2000 3,795 3,309 23,907 
			 2000–01 2,087 985 44,745 
			 2001–02 1,538 536 71,318 
			 2002–03 405 319 169,034

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish all the responses to his consultation paper, "Compensation and Support for Victims of Crime".

Paul Goggins: Our intention is to publish a summary of the responses. All responses will be acknowledged and respondents told that the outcome of the consultation will be published.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in each of the last 10 years, broken down by type of crime; and what proportion was paid to victims of crimes (a) when the criminal was arrested, (b) when the criminal was arrested and charged and (c) when the criminal was arrested, charged and successfully prosecuted, in each year.

Paul Goggins: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) provides compensation at the taxpayers' expense to blameless victims of crimes of violence and those injured in trying to apprehend criminals or prevent crime. It does not compensate victims of other types of crime.
	Claims are determined on the basis of applications and supporting information submitted by applicants, and upon the outcome of such other inquiries about the applicant's injuries and other aspects of eligibility as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) considers it necessary to make.
	Payment of compensation under the scheme is not conditional upon the offender having been charged or convicted or even identified. The burden of proof required under the scheme is 'the balance of probabilities' (the civil burden of proof) rather than 'beyond reasonable doubt' (the level of proof required in criminal courts).
	CICA do not keep statistics about whether or when those who inflicted injury upon CICS claimants were arrested, charged or successfully prosecuted.
	The amount of compensation paid to victims in each of the last 10 years under the scheme was as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1993–94 165 
			 1994–95 175 
			 1995–96 179 
			 1996–97 209 
			 1997–98 202 
			 1998–99 194 
			 1999–2000 205 
			 2000–01 208 
			 2001–02 233 
			 2002–03 232 
		
	
	These figures represent the cash actually paid over in each year. However, in 2000–01 the basis of government accounting changed from a cash to an accruals basis, under which the recorded spend now is the amount of money committed in the year, irrespective of when payments were actually made.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has collated on (a) moneys paid out by and (b) funding sources of equivalents to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in other EU countries.

Paul Goggins: Information about the amount of compensation paid and the number of applications received during one year under the state compensation schemes in each EU Member State is given at paragraph 3.8 of the European Commission's Green Paper, 'Compensation to crime victims' (reference COM(2001)536) issued on 28 September 2001. The paper can be accessed via the Internet at http://europa.eu.int/comm/off/green/index.en.htm and then clicking on the document just mentioned. Further information about compensation schemes in other European countries can be found in 'Victims of Crime in 22 European Criminal Justice Systems' by M. E. I. Brienen and D. H. Hoegen published in 2000 (ISBN:90–5850–004–7); and in 'Repairing the Irreparable: State compensation to crime victims in the European Union' by Julia Mikaelsson and Anna Wergens published in 2001 (ISBN 91–974139–1-7).

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether foreigners who are victims of crime in the UK are eligible for the criminal compensation scheme.

Paul Goggins: Yes. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme operates in England, Scotland and Wales. Anyone sustaining injury there as a result of violent crime is eligible to apply. There is a separate scheme in Northern Ireland, modelled closely on the GB Scheme.

Criminal Records Bureau

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have now been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau; and how many checks are outstanding.

Hazel Blears: As of 31 January 2004 the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) had issued 3,283,723 Disclosures. The first million Disclosures were issued by the CRB within 10 months, the second million within six months and the third million within five months. This reflects the CRB's increased capacity to handle over 50,000 Disclosure applications per week.
	As of 31 January 2004 the CRB has 107,219 applications outstanding (excluding those that have been returned to the customer). 03,840 of these applications are less than four weeks old with only 987 applications, approximately one per cent.of the overall total, still being processed after six weeks

Curfew Orders (Southend)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many home curfew orders have been made in Southend in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The available information is contained in the table and relates to offenders sentenced to a curfew order at court.
	Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Number of offenders sentenced to a curfew order for all offences at South East Essex Petty Sessional Area(25) including those sentenced at the Crown Court where South East Essex PSA was the committing court(26), 1998 to 2002
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1998 — 
			 1999 — 
			 2000 8 
			 2001 6 
			 2002 13 
		
	
	(25) Covers Southend and some parts of Rayleigh, Benfleet and Canvey.
	(26) These data are on the principal offence basis.

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of people who have been killed in each of the last 10 years at the hands of people receiving treatment for mental health problems.

Paul Goggins: Information on the mentally disordered state of the offenders, or whether they were receiving treatment at the time is not held centrally. The available information is in the form of currently recorded homicides where the apparent circumstances of the offence involved a mentally disturbed suspect. From 1992 to 1997 the statistics record homicides by calendar year and from 1997–98 financial years are used. There is duplication between 1997 and 1997–98, but it is standard practice to provide both periods.
	The number of victims is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of victims 
		
		
			 1992 12 
			 1993 34 
			 1994 46 
			 1995 39 
			 1996 36 
			 1997 42 
			 1997–98 39 
			 1998–99 28 
			 1999–2000 22 
			 2000–01 16 
			 2001–02 32 
		
	
	Data as for 8 October 2002, figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts or as further information becomes available.

Detention and Training Orders

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances magistrates can impose a detention and training order on an offender aged 12 to 14 years who has been convicted of breaching an anti-social behaviour order.

Paul Goggins: A court sentencing an offender aged 12–14 for breach of an anti-social behaviour order can make a Detention and Training Order in the same circumstances as for other criminal offences attracting custody. That is, where:
	it decides that the effect of the breach either in itself or in combination with associated offences, is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified; or
	the anti-social behaviour involves a violent or sexual offence and only a custodial sentence.

Detention and Training Orders

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the changes in the costs of introduction of the detention and training orders.

Paul Goggins: We estimate the average cost of a Detention and Training Order to be £27,000. That is an average for all sentence lengths and all types of establishment (Young Offender Institutions, Secure Training Centres and Local Authority Secure Children's Homes). It includes both the custodial and the community parts of the Order.

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of drug treatment and testing orders.

Paul Goggins: The evidence shows that Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) do work and that the longer offenders remain in treatment, the more likely they are to reduce their levels of offending and drug misuse (National Treatment Outcome Research Study 2001). An evaluation of the 3 DTTO pilots found that, on average, offenders committed 75 per cent. fewer offences while on the order and reduced their spend on drugs by over 90 per cent.
	A two-year follow up reconviction study of offenders from the three DTTO pilot sites found that:
	There was a significant reduction in the average number of convictions per year in the two years following the order in all three pilot sites; and
	Those who had completed DTTOs had a reconviction rate of only 53 per cent. compared with 91 per cent. for revokees, and reduced their annual conviction rate to levels significantly below those of the previous five years.

Eastern European Immigrants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what research he has based his estimates of the likely levels of immigration from Eastern European countries after accession to the EU in May.

Beverley Hughes: The Home Office commissioned research by University College London to look at the impact of EU accession (published in 2003 and available on the Home Office website (RDS On-line Report 25/03). In this report the authors reviewed the literature on potential migration flows following enlargement, analysed the experience of previous enlargements and developed their own model to estimate net migration from the new member states to the UK. This research was peer reviewed by scientific experts in the field.
	The findings were broadly in line with previous research, in particular, reports by the European Commission in 2000 ("European Commission information note on free movement in the context of workers") and the former Department for Education and Employment in 1999 ("Assessment of possible migration pressure and its labour market impact following EU enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe").

Electronic Tagging

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are on electronic tags, broken down by (a) sex, (b) offence, (c) length of sentence and (d) region.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 26 January 2004
	Figures for those on home detention curfew at the end of November 2003, having been released from prison are given in the following tables broken down by sex, offence, sentence length and region.
	
		Number on Home Detention Curfew, by offence, at end November 2003
		
			  Total Male Female 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 656 617 39 
			 Robbery 343 300 43 
			 Burglary 447 419 28 
			 Theft and handling 381 327 54 
			 Fraud and forgery 217 173 44 
			 Drugs offences 695 578 117 
			 Other offences 719 673 46 
			 Offence not recorded 131 126 5 
			 Total 3,589 3,213 376 
		
	
	
		Number on Home Detention Curfew, by sentence length, at end November 2003
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Three to less than six months 362 
			 Six to less than 12 months 500 
			 12 to less than 18 months 555 
			 18 months to less than two years. 512 
			 Two years to less than four years 1,660 
			 Total 3,589 
		
	
	
		Estimated number on Home Detention Curfew, by region, at end November 2003
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Northern 1,146 
			 Southern 574 
			 London and Eastern 868 
			 Midlands and Wales 1,001 
			 Total 3,589 
		
	
	The figures by region are estimates, and represent contractor regions.

Electronic Tagging

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his conclusions are arising from trials involving electronic tagging of juvenile sex offenders.

Paul Goggins: There have been no trials of electronic tagging for juvenile sex offenders in England and Wales.

Fines

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) fines and (b) other financial penalties were imposed by the courts for criminal offences during 2000–01, broken down by police authority in England and Wales; and how many of these were paid fully and on time.

Paul Goggins: The number of offenders ordered to pay a fine or compensation order or who have received a confiscation order (monetary) for all offences at all courts, England and Wales 2000–01, by Police Force Area is contained in the table.
	Details on the number of these financial penalties paid fully and on time, is not available centrally.
	
		Number of offenders sentenced to pay a fine, or compensation order or who have confiscation order (monetary) at all courts for all offences, by England and Wales 2000–01(27)
		
			 Police Force Area Fine Compensation order Confiscation order 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 25,763 2,467 18 
			 Bedfordshire 9,267 659 6 
			 Cambridgeshire 5,652 919 8 
			 Cheshire 20,387 2,028 8 
			 Cleveland 12,397 1,531 4 
			 Cumbria 9,318 1,387 10 
			 Derbyshire 19,099 1,733 41 
			 Devon and Cornwall 24,123 2,641 9 
			 Dorset 10,026 1,076 11 
			 Durham 8,385 1,558 8 
			 Essex 32,515 2,963 5 
			 Gloucestershire 10,699 851 7 
			 Greater Manchester 83,566 5,432 91 
			 Hampshire 32,869 3,605 19 
			 Hertfordshire 16,095 2,173 4 
			 Humberside 15,851 1,703 29 
			 Kent 16,207 2,489 29 
			 Lancashire 34,402 3,765 10 
			 Leicestershire 20,066 1,432 29 
			 Lincolnshire 14,103 1,388 9 
			 London, City of 8,067 214 1 
			 Merseyside 29,560 1,206 56 
			 Metropolitan Police 140,011 17,573 263 
			 Norfolk 9,341 1,297 5 
			 Northamptonshire 9,949 915 16 
			 Northumbria 34,817 3,775 15 
			 North Yorkshire 9,230 1,471 8 
			 Nottinghamshire 17,309 2,266 13 
			 South Yorkshire 25,764 2,400 24 
			 Staffordshire 11,547 2,045 4 
			 Suffolk 10,050 1,253 5 
			 Surrey 13,117 1,423 3 
			 Sussex 21,438 2,778 30 
			 Thames Valley 33,015 3,217 35 
			 Warwickshire 12,682 788 11 
			 West Mercia 18,860 2,379 18 
			 West Midlands 54,163 6,008 60 
			 West Yorkshire 50,347 4,388 13 
			 Wiltshire 10,559 1,319 8 
			 
			 Dyfed Powys 8,921 983 2 
			 Gwent 15,624 1,392 29 
			 North Wales 12,555 1,501 9 
			 South Wales 28,923 2,121 20 
			 
			 England and Wales 1,006,6 104,512 1,003 
		
	
	(27) These data are on the principal offence basis (but including primary and secondary schools).

Fines

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in the most recent period for which figures are available, broken down by police authority in England and Wales; what the total value of these penalty notices was; what proportion of these were paid in full and on time; and what proportion of those fined paid their penalty in full and on time.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 30 January 2004
	Information on fixed penalty notices issued for road traffic offences by police force area can be found in the annual Home Office publication 'Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales Supplementary tables'—Tables 20(a) to 20(c) refers. The latest issue covers 2001. Copies are available from the Library. The total value of fixed penalty notices issued is not collected centrally.
	Data are also collected centrally on the disposal, (ie. paid, fine registration certificate issued etc.) of fixed penalty notices issued for road traffic offences. However because of the time taken for the procedures for payment to be enforced the data are collected approximately nine months later than the period of issue. Tables 21(a) and 21(b) of the above 2001 publication details 2000 data by number and percentage of fixed penalty notices by result. Tables 20(a) to 20(c) of the 2000 publication cover that period. Information is not available on the number of fines paid in full and on time.
	Over 6,000 penalty notices for disorder were issued in the year-long pilots in four police force areas which started in mid-2002. A Home Office Research Findings covering the evaluation of the pilots will be published shortly.

Highdown Prison

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken to address the shortfall of officers at HM Prison Highdown in Surrey.

Paul Goggins: Local recruitment campaigns for Prison Officers at Highdown and surrounding prisons have been held. Eight new officers are in the process of initial training at Highdown and will become fully operational on 7 March. In the Kent, Surrey and Sussex area a further 18 potential recruits are undergoing final checks into their suitability for posts in the Prison Service, some of whom are expected to be posted to Highdown. A further recruitment exercise is scheduled to begin in March.
	Highdown is also currently operating a Contracted Supplementary Hours system which provides the equivalent of 14 additional officers.

Home Detention Curfew

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has collated on the use of the satellite global positioning system for monitoring those on Home Detention Curfew programmes.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office is aware of two pieces of research conducted by the Florida Department of Corrections, Bureau of Research and Data Analysis: A Report on Community Control, Radio Frequency (RF) Monitoring and Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) Monitoring (October 2002) and A Controlled Study of the Effects of Electronic Monitoring and Officer Caseload on Outcomes for Offenders on Community Control (March 2003). Officials have also visited programmes in Florida and Texas that use satellite global positioning systems to monitor offenders. The Home Office is testing tracking equipment using satellite global positioning systems and plans to pilot the use of this technology to track offenders later this year. No decisions have been taken about the categories of offenders who will be subject to tracking in the pilots.

Identity Card

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards will be put in place to ensure people who lose or have their identity cards stolen will be able to access basic services for which an identity card will be required.

Beverley Hughes: An identity card, although very helpful to public services as a reliable means of proving identity, would not become mandatory until a specific further Parliamentary decision on a move to compulsion. Where the identity card is used to access public services we will want to ensure that procedures are in place to help those whose card has been lost or stolen, especially in cases of emergency.

Identity Card

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what lessons have been learned from countries with operational identity card schemes on combating identity card fraud; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the operation of identity cards in Australia was examined in estimating the annual cost of the proposed UK identity card scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Identity card schemes exist in all other EU countries with the exception of Denmark and Ireland.
	Home Office officials have had detailed discussions with colleagues involved in the operation of identity card schemes in Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands and comprehensive information has been supplied by each of the EU member states on the operation of their card schemes.
	From these discussions, it is clear that the keys to an effective card scheme are the security of the issuing process, the physical security of the document itself and consistent procedures for using the card. Lessons learned from other countries, including those such as Australia, Canada and the USA that do not have identity cards, will help inform the delivery planning of the United Kingdom identity cards scheme.

Identity Card

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects identity cards to become compulsory following the introduction of the proposed identity card scheme.

Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) on 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 212W.

Identity Card

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of requiring electors to show a valid identity card in order to cast a vote at UK elections following the introduction of the proposed identity card scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: In Northern Ireland voters are already required to produce proof of their identity before they vote. The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 introduced electoral identity cards in Northern Ireland as one of the four ways in which individuals can prove who they are when going to vote at an election in Northern Ireland.
	There are no plans to extend this by requiring electors throughout the United Kingdom to show a valid identity card in order to cast a vote. However, discussions are continuing between the Home Office and other Departments on how production of an identity card might be linked to services for which they are responsible in the future.

Juvenile Prisoners

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times unfurnished cells have been used in each of the prisons holding juveniles in each month since 1 January 2002.

Paul Goggins: Date on the number of times juveniles have been placed in unfurnished cells in each of the juvenile establishments since 1 January 2002 is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			 Establishment January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April2002 May2002 June2002 July2002 August 2002 
		
		
			 Ashfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Brinsford 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Brockhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bullwood Hall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Castington 7 3 4 1 1 4 0 1 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Feltham 2 3 2 0 2 2 3 5 
			 Hindley 0 0 0 0 4 5 1 4 
			 Holloway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Huntercombe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lanacaster Farms 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 New Hall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Onley 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Parc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke Heath 2 4 2 1 1 1 3 4 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warren Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Werrington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Establishment September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April2003 
		
		
			 Ashfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Brinsford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Brockhill 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Bullwood Hall 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Castington 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Feltham 3 1 3 2 0 0 3 5 
			 Hindley 3 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 
			 Holloway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Huntercombe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lanacaster Farms 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 New Hall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Onley 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Parc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke Heath 2 5 4 0 2 0 0 1 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warren Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Werrington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Establishment May2003 June2003 July2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 Total 
		
		
			 Ashfield 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 
			 Brinsford 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 6 
			 Brockhill 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Bullwood Hall 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 
			 Castington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 
			 Eastwood Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Feltham 6 4 1 1 4 3 5 60 
			 Hindley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 
			 Holloway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Huntercombe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lanacaster Farms 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 New Hall 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 4 
			 Onley 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 8 
			 Parc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke Heath 2 1 2 1 1 0 1 40 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warren Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Werrington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mentally Disordered Offenders

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the mentally disordered offenders listed in the 2003 Statistics published by the Home Office on 27 November 2003 were deaf; and what proportion were from a black and ethnic minority background.

Paul Goggins: The requested information is not held centrally and is therefore not available. Mechanisms have been put in place to collect information on the ethnicity of restricted patients. This information will be published as soon as is practically possible.

Motoring Offences (Fine Defaulters)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people serving custodial sentences for motoring offences are doing so because of defaulting on fines.

Paul Goggins: At the end of November 2003, there were six people in prison who had defaulted on the payment of a fine for motoring offences.

National Offender Management Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the continuing responsibilities will be of (a) the National Probation Service and (b) the National Probation Directorate within the structures of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 January 2004
	The future responsibilities of the National Probation Service and the National Probation Directorate have yet to be finalised. We are committed to maintaining local involvement in the delivery of correctional services. We do not yet have a final view on how best this can be achieved within the new structure and this is a specific issue on which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has asked for views.

National Offender Management Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the relationship will be between local probation areas, regional offender managers, national offender managers and the chief executive within the arrangements of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 January 2004
	The Chief Executive of National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will lead the new service. The National Offender Manager will report directly to the Chief Executive and will be responsible for reducing re-offending and managing the budget for offender services. The Regional Offender Managers will report to the National Offender Manager and will have responsibility for end-to-end management of offenders in the nine English regions and Wales.
	The relationship between local probation areas and NOMS have yet to be finalised. We are committed to maintaining local involvement in the delivery of correctional services. We do not yet have a final view on how best this can be achieved within the new structure and this is a specific issue on which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has asked for views.

National Offender Management Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the role of offender managers at the area level will be within the structure of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 January 2004
	The regional offender manager's role will be to provide dedicated end-to-end management of offenders regardless of whether they have received a custodial or community sentence or indeed a combination of the two. The offender manager will be able to provide interventions appropriate to the offender, purchasing these from the public, private, not for profit and voluntary sectors.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional staff will be employed in the National Offender Management Service to administer the new service at (a) national and (b) regional level.

Paul Goggins: The structure of the National Offender Management Service is yet to be finalised. It is too early to say how many staff will be needed in the new structure at either national or regional level.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget is for establishing the National Offender Management Service during (a) the current year and (b) each of the next three financial years.

Paul Goggins: The cost of establishing the National Offender Management service will be met from within existing Home Office provision in 2003–04 and 2004–05. Funding for 2005–06 onwards will be agreed as part of the current spending review.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the role will be of offender managers at area level under the new National Offender Management Service structure.

Paul Goggins: The regional offender manager's role will be to provide dedicated end-to-end management of offenders regardless of whether they have received a custodial or community sentence or indeed a combination of the two. The offender manager will be able to provide interventions appropriate to the offender, purchasing these from the public, private, not for profit and voluntary sectors.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the National Probation Service and its Directorate will continue to function under the new arrangements for the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: For the time being the National Probation Service and its Directorate will continue to function as they are at the moment. However, as the new organisation develops, offender managers from the National Offender Management Service will assume end-to-end responsibility for offenders and will contract with providers of services from within their areas regardless of whether the service is from the public, private or voluntary sector. We do not as yet have a finalised view as to the future of the 42 boards within this framework and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has therefore specifically sought the views of key stakeholders.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the relationship will be between the (a) local areas, (b) regional offender managers, (c) national offender managers and (d) the Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Executive of the National Offenders Management Service (NOMS), Martin Narey, will lead the new service. The National Offender Manager will report directly to the Chief Executive and will be responsible for reducing re-offending and managing the budget for offender services. The Regional Offender Managers will report to the National Offender Manager and will have responsibility for end-to-end management of offenders in the nine English regions and Wales.
	The relationship between local probation areas and NOMS have yet to be finalised. We are committed to maintaining local involvement in the delivery of correctional services. We do not yet have a final view on how best this can be achieved within the new structure and this is a specific issue on which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has asked for views.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether local probation areas will become an integral arm of the National Offender Management Service with substantial day to day operational freedom.

Paul Goggins: Individual probation areas will continue to function as they are for the moment. However, as the new organisation develops, offender managers from the National Offender Management Service will assume end-to-end responsibility for offenders and will contract with providers of services from within the areas regardless of whether the service is from the public, private or voluntary sector. We do not as yet have a finalised view as to the future of the 42 boards within this framework and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has therefore specifically sought the views of key stakeholders.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the employer will be of probation and prison staff under the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: For most staff in prisons and probation the changes outlined in "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" are unlikely to have an immediate impact. They will continue to be employed by the probation boards and prison service. In time the relationships will change but those changes have yet to be finalised and will be subject to the usual consultation arrangements with staff and unions.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the National Offender Management Service will set up consultation committees with magistrates within the new structure for NOMS; what the line of accountability will be for prison and probation officers; whether probation areas will continue to have a role within multi-agency public protection panels; whether inter-agency work will be the subject of competitive tendering; and whether the supervision and potential recall of ex-prisoners will be opened up to competition.

Paul Goggins: The structure of the National Offender Management Service is yet to be finalised. As part of the implementation of the Reducing Crime—Changing Lives reforms the implementation team will consider the introduction of consultative committees and develop the details of contestability within the National Offender Management Service.
	For most staff in prisons and probation the reforms are unlikely to have an immediate impact. They will continue to be employed by the probation boards and prison service. In time the relationships will change but those changes have yet to be finalised and will be subject to the usual consultation arrangements with staff and unions.
	Individual probation areas will continue to function as they are at the moment. However, as the new organisation develops, offender managers from the National Offender Management Service will assume end-to-end responsibility for offenders and will contract with providers of services from within their areas regardless of whether the service is from the public, private or voluntary sector. Inter-agency work to protect the public and address rehabilitation will remain a crucial element of the work of the National Offender Management Service.

National Offender Management Service

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure the burden of administration for front line staff of the National Offender Management Service does not increase.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 29 January 2004
	The Government is committed to the reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy, particularly in regard to demands on front line staff. The National Offender Management Service implementation team will seek to reduce the administrative demands on front line staff wherever possible.

National Offender Management Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are expected to be employed by the National Offender Management Service (a) in headquarters and (b) in the regional offices.

Paul Goggins: The structure of the National Offender Management Service is yet to be finalised.

National Offender Management Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the arrangements for collective bargaining will be within the structure of the National Offenders Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The structure of the National Offender Management Service is yet to be finalised. Once this is done, the Department will put in place appropriate mechanisms to allow collective bargaining to take place.

National Offender Management Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether individual probation areas will continue to function and have day-to-day operational freedom within the structure of the National Offenders Management Service.

Paul Goggins: For the time being individual probation areas will continue to function as they are at the moment. However, as the new organisation develops, offender managers from the National Offender Management Service will assume end-to-end responsibility for offenders and will contract with providers of services from within their areas regardless of whether the service is from the public, private or voluntary sector. We do not as yet have a finalised view as to the future of the 42 boards within this framework and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has therefore specifically sought the views of key stakeholders.

National Offender Management Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the lines of accountability of probation staff will differ under the structure of the National Offenders Management Service.

Paul Goggins: For most staff in prisons and probation the changes outlined in "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" are unlikely to have an immediate impact. They will continue to be employed by the probation boards and Prison Service. In time the relationships will change, but those changes have yet to be finalised and will be subject to the usual consultation arrangements with staff and unions.

National Offender Management Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role probation areas will continue to have within Multi-agency public protection panels within the National Offenders Management Service structure; and what steps will be taken to ensure that the work is adequately funded.

Paul Goggins: For the time being individual probation areas will continue to function as they are at the moment. However, as the new organisation develops, offender managers from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will assume end-to-end responsibility for offenders, including a continuing role within Multi-agency Public Protection Panels. The future of the Probation Boards within NOMS is an issue on which we are seeking the views of key stakeholders.

National Offender Management Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether inter-agency public protection work within the structure of the National Offenders Management Service will be the subject of competitive tendering in future.

Paul Goggins: The details of contestability within correctional services will be developed as part of the "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" reforms. Inter-agency work to protect the public and encourage rehabilitation will remain a crucial element of the work of the National Offender Management Service.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the 42 probation areas under the National Offenders Management Service arrangements.

Paul Goggins: Although all probation staff will come within the ambit of the new National Offenders Management Service (NOMS), they will for the time being continue to be employed by the probation boards. We are committed to ensuring local delivery of correctional services but do not yet have a firm view on how this can be best achieved within the new single service. The future of the 42 probation boards is therefore a specific issue on which my right hon. friend the Home Secretary has asked for views.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether consultative committees with local magistrates will be introduced within the structure of the National Offenders Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The introduction of consultative committees within the structure of the National Offender Management Service will be considered by the implementation team as part of the implementation of the "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" reforms.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there will be a single employer under existing National Negotiating Committee arrangements for the purposes of collective bargaining within the structure of the National Offenders Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The structure of the National Offender Management Service is yet to be finalised. Once this is done, the Department will put in place appropriate mechanisms to allow collective bargaining to take place.

National Offender Management Service

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the National Offenders Management Service will work on a regional level closely with complementary services, including the police.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 January 2004
	Yes. As the report "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" makes clear, we believe the tasks of integrating the management of offenders whilst in custody or under supervision in the community is best managed at regional level where effective links can be forged and joint strategies developed with complementary services including police, health, education and employment. There will be 10 regional offender managers responsible for this in the nine English regions and Wales.

Open Prisons

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets have been set for the transfer of prisoners from closed prisons to open prisons; and how many (a) Category A prisoners, (b) Category B prisoners and (c) Category C prisoners were reclassified as Category D prisoners in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2002.

Paul Goggins: There are no binding targets for the transfer of prisoners from closed prisons to open prisons. There are agreed delivery levels for the transfer of prisoners from Category C conditions to open conditions, which are monitored by Area Managers but not enforced. Governors and Area Managers work to ensure that all prisoners assessed as suitable for open conditions are moved there as soon as possible. Any move to open conditions is subject to the prisoner being approved to do so through a risk assessment.
	The total number of prisoners in prisons in England and Wales at 30 June 2002 and 30 June 2003 who had been reclassified to a Category D classification during the previous 12 months is shown in the table.
	
		
			  (i) 30 June 2003 (ii) 30 June 2002 
		
		
			 Total number of prisoners reclassified as Category D(28) 2,900 2,300 
		
	
	(28) All category D prisoners are re-categorised from category C irrespective of their original classification on entry to prison.

Parole Board

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to improve communication links between the Parole Board of England and Wales and external bodies; what plans he has to enable the Board to have telephone listings independently of the Prison Service; and what plans there are to provide resources to the organisation to enable it to act as an autonomous body

Paul Goggins: The Parole Board for England and Wales is an independent body and is responsible for developing good links with other agencies within the Criminal Justice System.
	The Parole Board only very recently informed officials in the sponsoring unit of the difficulties it was experiencing with the telecommunications service, and that its contact numbers are not independently listed from those of the Prison Service. Now that the sponsoring unit is aware of the problem, it will do all it can to assist the Board with this matter.
	The Parole Board already has resources available to it, given as grant-in-aid payments, in order that it can carry out its functions competently and in its capacity as an independent body. The grant-in-aid agreed for the Board for 2003–04 was £4.76 million compared with £3.73 million for 2002–03, which represents a 28 per cent. increase.

Police Statistics (Wales)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers, (b) special constables and (c) community support officers there were in Wales broken down by (i) police force, (ii) constituency and (iii) local authority area for each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The tables give the number of police officers and special constables from 1997 to 2003 for each police force area in Wales. Data on Community Support Officers and for territorial areas within police forces were collected for the first time in 2003 by the Research Development and Statistics Directorate. Figures are not available by constituency or local authority area but are available by police force basic command unit (BCU). A table of BCUs in Wales giving police strength for 2002 (collected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary) and 2003 is included.
	
		
			  March 1997 March 1998 March 1999 March 2000 March 2001 March 2002 March 2003(30) 
		
		
			 Police Officer Strength (29)  
			 Dyfed-Powys 1,005 1,002 1,026 1,040 1,055 1,132 1,149 
			 Gwent 1,243 1,233 1,247 1,264 1,274 1,333 1,341 
			 North Wales 1,369 1,396 1,391 1,403 1,444 1,506 1,539 
			 South Wales 2,976 2,986 2,981 2,926 3,154 3,222 3,239 
			 Total 6,592 6,617 6,646 6,632 6,927 7,194 7,268 
			  
			 Special Constables(29)  
			 Dyfed-Powys 283 254 237 202 191 157 152 
			 Gwent 157 119 113 119 137 142 130 
			 North Wales 341 358 400 247 207 125 133 
			 South Wales 361 366 338 267 254 277 173 
			 Total 1,142 1,097 1,088 835 789 701 588 
			 
			 Community Support Officers(29)
			 Dyfed-Powys   0 
			 Gwent   30 
			 North Wales   0 
			 South Wales   0 
		
	
	(29) Full time equivalents
	(30) Comparable strength (previously published figures exclude officers on career breaks and maternity leave
	
		
			   March 2002 March 2003 
			 Police ForceArea Basic Command Units Police officer strength Police officer strength 
		
		
			 Dyfed-Powys Carmarthenshire 334 331 
			 Dyfed-Powys Ceredigion 151 153 
			 Dyfed-Powys Pembrokeshire 234 234 
			 Dyfed-Powys Powys 254 274 
			 Gwent Blaenau Gwent 279 131 
			 Gwent Caerphilly 283 321 
			 Gwent Newport 295 282 
			 Gwent Torfaen and Monmouthshire 223 282 
			 North Wales Central 339 404 
			 North Wales Eastern 397 437 
			 North Wales Western 345 380 
			 South Wales Bridgend 235 254 
			 South Wales Cardiff 651 805 
			 South Wales Merthyr Tydfil 142 144 
			 South Wales Neath and Port Talbot 241 232 
			 South Wales Rhondda Cynon Taff 363 381 
			 South Wales Swansea 464 500 
			 South Wales Vale of Glamorgan 195 220

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seizures of alcohol were made in London prisons in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: The information requested cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to upgrade existing prison cells over the next five years.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service is currently working to a three year programme of ongoing refurbishment of prison places. At any one time approximately 2,000 places are out of use on account of building refurbishment works. There are also programmes to provide privacy screens in cells that may be used for double occupancy.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list fires started by prisoners in 2003; at which prisons the incidents took place; and what the cost was in each case.

Paul Goggins: In 2003 there were 980 fires in prisons. The possible cause of 674 (69 per cent.) of these was recorded as malicious ignition.
	While many of the fires started by prisoners are dealt with quickly, resulting in little damage, occasionally larger fires do occur and a very small number of these result in serious damage to cells.
	The following table shows all establishments and indicates for each, the number of fires that occurred in 2003 for which malicious ignition was recorded as the 'possible cause'.
	Figures for the cost in each case is not available.
	
		
			  Number of fires in 2003 where the 'possible cause' has been recorded as malicious ignition 
		
		
			 Askham grange 1 
			 Acklington 0 
			 Albany 4 
			 Altcourse 3 
			 Ashfield 17 
			 Ashwell 2 
			 Aylesbury 3 
			 Bedford 2 
			 Belmarsh 4 
			 Birmingham 6 
			 Blakenhurst 18 
			 Blantyre House 1 
			 Blundeston 4 
			 Brinsford 5 
			 Bristol 8 
			 Brixton 15 
			 Brockhill 12 
			 Buckley Hall 5 
			 Bullingdon 4 
			 Bullwood Hall 3 
			 Camphill 3 
			 Canterbury 0 
			 Cardiff 1 
			 Castington 7 
			 Channings Wood 3 
			 Chelmsford 5 
			 Coldingly 0 
			 Cookham Wood 9 
			 Dartmoor 3 
			 Deerbolt 3 
			 Doncaster 11 
			 Dorchester 0 
			 Dovegate 12 
			 Dover 1 
			 Downview 1 
			 Drake Hall 1 
			 Durham 8 
			 East Sutton Park 6 
			 Eastwood Park 0 
			 Elmley 3 
			 Erlestoke 0 
			 Everthorpe 0 
			 Exeter 2 
			 Featherstone 2 
			 Feltham 13 
			 Ford 0 
			 Forest Bank 17 
			 Foston Hall 1 
			 Frankland 0 
			 Full Sutton 3 
			 Garth 8 
			 Gartree 0 
			 Glen Parva 4 
			 Gloucester 6 
			 Grendon/Springhill 0 
			 Guys Marsh 1 
			 Haslar 2 
			 Hatfield 1 
			 Haverigg 2 
			 Hewell Grange 0 
			 Highdown 6 
			 Highpoint 11 
			 Hindley 23 
			 Hollesley Bay 0 
			 Holloway 11 
			 Holme House 1 
			 Hull 7 
			 Huntercombe 9 
			 Kingston 1 
			 Kirkham 1 
			 Kirklevington Grange 0 
			 Lancaster 1 
			 Lancaster Farms 2 
			 Latchmere House 0 
			 Leeds 6 
			 Leicester 8 
			 Lewes 8 
			 Leyhill 1 
			 Lincoln 5 
			 Lindholme 7 
			 Littlehey 4 
			 Liverpool 13 
			 Long Lartin 2 
			 Low Newton 11 
			 Lowdham Grange 0 
			 Maidstone 3 
			 Manchester 11 
			 Moorland 4 
			 Morton Hall 0 
			 New Hall 9 
			 North Sea Camp 2 
			 Northallerton 3 
			 Norwich 22 
			 Nottingham 11 
			 Onley 6 
			 Parc 29 
			 Parkhurst 7 
			 Pentonville 15 
			 Portland 1 
			 Preston 8 
			 Ranby 5 
			 Reading 0 
			 Risley 8 
			 Rochester 2 
			 Ryehill 2 
			 Send 3 
			 Shepton Mallet 2 
			 Shrewsbury 1 
			 Stafford 2 
			 Standford hill 1 
			 Stocken 1 
			 Stoke Heath 6 
			 Styal 10 
			 Sudbury 0 
			 Swaleside 20 
			 Swansea 1 
			 Swinfen Hall 0 
			 The Verne 1 
			 The Mount 1 
			 Thorn Cross 1 
			 Usk/Prescoed 0 
			 Wakefield 2 
			 Wandsworth 21 
			 Warren Hill 0 
			 Wayland 6 
			 Wealstun 5 
			 Weare 0 
			 Wellingborough 3 
			 Werrington 0 
			 Wetherby 10 
			 Whatton 0 
			 Whitemoor 4 
			 Wincester 7 
			 Wolds 6 
			 Woodhill 2 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 14 
			 Wymott 2 
			 Total 674

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the current retirement age of 65 years for serving prison officers.

Paul Goggins: The current maximum retirement age for serving prison officers is 60 years. A small number of prison officers are retained beyond 60 for exceptional operational reasons.
	No decision has been made to extend the retirement age for prison officers, although all options are currently being considered.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers failed their annual control and restraint test in the past 12 months; and what their ages were.

Paul Goggins: There is no annual control and restraint test in the Prison Service. Prison establishments are required to maintain an appropriate level of officers trained at basic level control and restraint, and those officers selected to fulfil this requirement all undertake initial and refresher training courses. However, these courses do not include a test.
	Officers who deal with incidents of concerted indiscipline attend an advanced control and restraint training course. Again, officers are not formally tested at the end of this training. However, to gain admission to the course, an officer must be identified by his or her line manager as having an aptitude for the role; and is required to undertake a fitness test. From 1 January to 31 December 2003, a total of 4,353 officers undertook this fitness test, including officers from private prisons. The overall pass rate was 98.6 per cent, with 62 officers, aged between 18 and 65, failing. Their age distribution was as follows:
	
		
			 Age Number of advanced for advanced C and R training who failed the fitness test 
		
		
			 18–25 5 
			 26–34 12 
			 35–44 35 
			 45–54 8 
			 55–65 2

Prisons

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to fund the prison service in the next (a) five and (b) 10 years.

Paul Goggins: The budget plans for the years 2003–04 to 2005–06 are set out in the table. These figures are published in tables 2 and 3 of Section 6 of the Home Office Annual Departmental Report 2003. Both in-year and future year budgets are subject to review and amendment.
	
		Table: Budget Plans for the Prison Service 2003–06 -- £ millions
		
			 Financial year Resource budget plans Capital budget plans 
		
		
			 2003–04 2,331.462 294.796 
			 2004–05 2,403.303 268.730 
			 2005–06 2,520.342 166.730 
		
	
	The budgets for years 2006–07 to 2008–09 and beyond are yet to be finalised.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed in the (a) Prison Service headquarters and (b) National Probation Directorate headquarters.

Paul Goggins: At the beginning of November 2003 there were 2,403 (full-time equivalent) staff employed at Her Majesty's Prison Service Headquarters (including operational area offices). Of these, 1,330 were employed in central London offices.
	In December 2003, the National Probation Directorate employed 445 staff.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list attacks on (a) prison officers and (b) probation officers in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) prison and (ii) probation service area.

Paul Goggins: Information regarding assaults on probation officers is not collected centrally, for the previous or the new probation areas, and cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost. Information on the numbers of assaults on prison officers reported to Prison Service headquarters by prisons is given in the table below, which distinguishes between serious and minor assaults. Serious assaults are shown in column A for each prison and each year with minor assaults being shown in column B. Serious assaults are those that result in detention in outside hospital as an inpatient, medical treatment for concussion or internal injury, fractures, scalds and burns, stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts requiring suturing, bites, temporary or permanent blindness or sexual assault. Minor assaults may involve no injury.
	
		
			  A B A B A B A B A B 
			 Establishment 1999 1999 2000 2000 2001 2001 2002 2002 2003 2003 
		
		
			 Acklington 1 7 0 5 0 1 0 2 1 3 
			 Albany 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 2 0 3 
			 Altcourse 3 16 2 35 3 46 0 45 3 43 
			 Ashfield 0 6 3 79 2 75 4 123 2 62 
			 Ashwell 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Askham Grange 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Aylesbury 8 71 1 26 4 31 2 11 2 15 
			 Bedford 1 2 1 6 2 11 4 16 2 12 
			 Belmarsh 4 49 2 63 8 107 7 74 0 52 
			 Birmingham 5 48 1 37 2 50 1 53 2 58 
			 Blakenhurst 3 33 6 40 1 21 0 10 5 22 
			 Blantyre House 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Blundeston 0 3 0 2 0 5 1 2 0 2 
			 Brinsford 1 24 0 38 0 31 1 24 0 31 
			 Bristol 2 24 1 18 1 27 2 48 2 22 
			 Brixton 3 34 2 37 5 31 4 70 4 46 
			 Brockhill 0 9 0 10 0 16 1 12 1 5 
			 Buckley Hall 0 6 0 8 0 8 0 11 1 36 
			 Bullingdon 2 32 2 18 2 16 1 23 4 22 
			 Bullwood Hall 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Camp Hill 2 4 3 7 1 3 4 6 5 10 
			 Canterbury 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 3 1 6 
			 Cardiff 0 5 0 5 0 17 0 14 0 11 
			 Castington 1 51 5 48 0 35 1 52 2 47 
			 Channings Wood 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 3 0 4 
			 Chelmsford 0 9 6 34 3 24 3 22 2 14 
			 Coldingley 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Cookham Wood 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 14 
			 Dartmoor 0 21 0 22 2 30 2 10 0 8 
			 Deerbolt 0 10 0 8 1 11 2 8 0 5 
			 Doncaster 0 42 0 15 0 29 2 30 0 25 
			 Dorchester 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 4 
			 Dovegate 0 0 0 0 1 7 1 24 5 39 
			 Dover 3 17 1 14 0 7 0 0 5 7 
			 Downview 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 10 1 6 
			 Drake Hall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Durham 2 6 3 14 2 29 2 22 2 29 
			 East Sutton Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 1 2 0 5 0 6 0 5 0 11 
			 Edmunds Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 
			 Elmley 0 11 0 15 1 19 2 23 3 25 
			 Erlestoke 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Everthorpe 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 
			 Exeter 1 4 0 2 2 11 1 12 2 10 
			 Featherstone 0 6 0 8 1 8 2 16 1 7 
			 Feltham 4 43 3 28 3 97 5 82 7 101 
			 Ford 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 
			 Forest Bank 0 0 1 37 2 41 2 37 2 62 
			 Foston Hall 1 3 0 1 0 3 1 28 0 14 
			 Frankland 0 11 1 7 1 5 1 9 0 4 
			 Full Sutton 2 4 0 2 2 10 1 7 2 11 
			 Garth 0 5 1 6 1 2 1 8 0 10 
			 Gartree 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Glen Parva 1 22 1 23 1 25 3 40 1 27 
			 Gloucester 3 17 1 13 2 8 3 10 0 13 
			 Grendon 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Guys Marsh 1 3 0 9 1 11 0 1 3 6 
			 Haslar 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hatfield 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Haverigg 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 3 5 
			 Hewell Grange 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Highdown 1 63 3 44 4 47 1 58 2 44 
			 Highpoint South 3 11 1 8 1 32 4 44 3 19 
			 Hindley 1 11 1 6 0 4 0 25 0 23 
			 Hollesley Bay 1 16 5 14 4 22 0 18 0 4 
			 Holloway 13 85 6 155 5 86 1 77 4 86 
			 Holme House 1 8 1 9 0 15 1 13 1 20 
			 Hull 2 19 1 9 3 12 4 13 2 27 
			 Huntercombe 1 10 3 15 1 8 0 15 1 18 
			 Kingston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 
			 Kirkham 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 
			 Kirklevington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lancaster Castle 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Lancaster Farms 1 22 2 16 1 18 4 17 3 11 
			 Latchmere House 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Leeds 0 57 0 31 2 76 4 56 3 111 
			 Leicester 0 11 1 17 0 15 1 14 0 14 
			 Lewes 2 9 0 12 1 19 1 10 1 32 
			 Leyhill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lincoln 1 5 1 6 4 16 0 20 1 14 
			 Lindholme 0 1 0 1 1 3 1 5 2 29 
			 Littlehey 1 13 0 21 1 8 2 5 3 8 
			 Liverpool 1 28 2 20 1 24 2 36 1 44 
			 Long Lartin 0 2 1 4 3 4 1 7 2 5 
			 Lowdham grange 2 17 1 8 0 3 0 4 0 3 
			 Low Newton 0 5 1 16 2 25 0 27 2 16 
			 Maidstone 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 5 
			 Manchester 2 24 2 37 0 33 0 53 3 56 
			 Moorland 1 26 3 14 1 20 3 20 3 19 
			 Morton Hall 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 4 0 1 
			 New Hall 1 5 .0 9 1 30 0 24 0 21 
			 Northallerton 0 6 1 8 0 4 0 6 0 11 
			 North Sea Camp 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 2 
			 Norwich 3 24 5 21 4 21 2 23 3 23 
			 Nottingham 0 12 1 21 1 16 0 12 0 15 
			 Onley 3 54 0 38 3 60 12 61 7 81 
			 Pare 5 17 0 12 0 15 1 26 2 54 
			 Parkhurst 4 7 1 7 4 18 6 8 2 17 
			 Pentonville 4 78 0 56 2 99 3 102 8 86 
			 Portland 3 6 3 29 3 13 2 21 1 14 
			 Preston 3 8 0 7 2 7 1 10 3 9 
			 Ranby 0 3 1 3 0 1 4 7 1 7 
			 Reading 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 6 1 7 
			 Risley 3 16 0 1 0 1 1 14 1 17 
			 Rochester 3 9 5 17 3 19 1 5 1 14 
			 Rye Hill 0 0 0 0 0 18 1 17 3 19 
			 Send 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 4 
			 Shepton Mallet 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 
			 Shrewsbury 0 5 0 4 0 3 0 3 0 11 
			 Stafford 3 13 3 9 0 6 1 8 3 8 
			 Standford Hill 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Stocken 0 2 1 6 1 4 0 10 0 9 
			 Stoke Heath 1 20 1 52 1 62 0 47 7 16 
			 Styal 0 12 1 6 0 17 0 4 1 6 
			 Sudbury 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Swaleside 3 14 3 19 3 27 3 28 5 15 
			 Swansea 1 5 1 1 0 1 0 5 1 5 
			 Swinfen Hall 1 12 0 3 3 12 0 7 1 8 
			 The Mount 0 2 0 2 1 4 0 5 1 13 
			 The Verne 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 
			 The Weare 0 7 2 6 0 2 0 9 2 10 
			 Thorn Cross 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 
			 Usk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wakefield 2 12 1 6 1 8 0 7 0 7 
			 Wandsworth 4 90 2 49 3 54 3 78 4 66 
			 Warren Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wayland 0 4 0 4 0 4 0 7 1 11 
			 Wealstun 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Wellingborough 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 
			 Werrington 0 1 1 5 0 8 0 5 1 20 
			 Wetherby 1 7 2 16 1 20 2 8 0 11 
			 Whatton 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Whitemoor 0 8 1 10 2 34 3 22 1 14 
			 Winchester 1 5 2 5 1 4 2 11 0 12 
			 Wolds 1 20 4 27 2 10 0 13 1 7 
			 Woodhill 2 22 0 13 0 9 0 16 1 29 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1 26 1 21 1 38 2 54 10 35 
			 Wymott 0 7 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 1 
			 Total 145 1671 128 1728 141 2100 151 2262 191 2320

Prisons

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to ease the problem of prison overcrowding.

Paul Goggins: Funding has been provided for around 3,000 additional public sector prison places to be built at existing prisons by 2006. Two new private sector prisons providing 1,290 places are also due to be opened at Ashford (near Heathrow) and Peterborough in June 2004 and March 2005 respectively. This will increase the total useable capacity of the prison estate to around 78,700 by 2006.
	On the 6 January a radical reform of the management of offenders was announced with the publication of the document 'Reducing Crime-Changing Lives'. The overriding purpose of the reforms is to improve the management of offenders and reduce re-offending. Offenders for whom prison is the right penalty will continue to be sent to prison. But there are many offenders for whom tough non-custodial penalties will be more appropriate. Our proposals will provide sentencers with a full range of penalties and advice on what is most likely to be effective in reducing re-offending in particular circumstances.

Prisons

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the connection between prison and homelessness; and what steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners have help finding accommodation on their release.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service undertook a large-scale survey in March and April 2003 of sentenced prisoners nearing release. 29 per cent. said they did not have accommodation arranged on release, compared to 33 per cent. in a similar survey undertaken in November and December 2001.
	The Prison Service is investing an additional £14.5 million a year in its Custody to Work initiative. This is geared to increasing the number of prisoners securing employment and accommodation on release. The initiative is helping to support the development and delivery of housing advice and support services in some prisons.
	The Government are drawing up a national rehabilitation action plan responding to the July 2002 Social Exclusion Unit report on reducing re-offending by released prisoners. The action plan, which we expect to publish in the early part of this year, will include the development of a national strategy to improve accommodation outcomes for offenders.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the original budget allocations were for HM Prison Brixton for each of the years from 1997 to 2003.

Paul Goggins: The following table shows the final budget allocations for Brixton for each year between 1997 and 2003. Original budget allocations by establishment are not held beyond the end of each year. Total budget allocations in the three years 1997–2000 were on a cash basis, in 2000–03 they were on a resource basis and in 2000–01 included the budget for property costs (depreciation and interest charges) but these have been excluded from the following figures.
	
		£
		
			  Budget allocations 
		
		
			 1997–98 17,490,813 
			 1998–99 17,677,121 
			 1999–2000 17,488,467 
			 2000–01 18,093,685 
			 2001–02 18,311,290 
			 2002–03 18,995,678

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the survey to identify new sites for prisons will be completed.

Paul Goggins: A survey to identify potential sites for new prisons that are available on the open market commenced last November. The results are currently being analysed and the Prison Service hopes to be in a position to proceed with negotiations for purchase of the most suitable sites later in the spring.

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to ensure that prisons maintain accurate records of foreign national prisoners in the establishment.

Paul Goggins: As part of the reception procedure in prisons the nationality of all prisoners is recorded in their core record.

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding the women's foreign national support group Hibiscus received from the Home Office in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: Hibiscus receives money from a variety of sources. The Prison Service has funded Hibiscus's activities since 1998–99. The amounts funded, by various prisons and HQ groups are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1998–99 20,000 
			 2001–02 54,354 
			 2002–03 54,096 
			 2003–04 80,346

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what special training and guidance is provided for prison officers working in prisons with a large proportion of foreign national prisoners.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 26 January 2004
	Prison staff are trained to deal with the different needs of all prisoners, including foreign nationals.
	The Prison Service recently signed a new contract with Language Line, a 24 hour telephone interpreting service, which is available for prisoners and includes training for staff. A number of prisons holding large numbers of foreign national prisoners work with the voluntary organisation Hibiscus who run training days in their establishments.
	In order to ensure that Foreign National prisoners are informed about prison life, Prisoner Information Books are made available in different languages. These are to be replaced by the Foreign Prisoners Resource Pack, which is due to be published soon. This pack will contain a section for staff in prisons to ensure that they are aware of the relevant information.
	The Prison Service continues to work in partnership with other agencies to minimise any language or cultural difficulties experienced by foreign national prisoners.

Prisons

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many female prisoners are from Wales, broken down by offences for which they are held;
	(2)  how many life sentence prisoners are being held in prisons in England (a) whose last place of residence before sentence was in Wales and (b) who have requested a transfer to prison in Wales;
	(3)  how many young offenders from Wales there were in penal institutions at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners from Wales are held in prison in England, broken down by offences for which they are held;
	(5)  how many prisoners there are in each Welsh prison.

Paul Goggins: Information on a prisoner's place of residence prior to being sentenced/remanded in custody is not held centrally. The information provided as follows cover prisoners on remand who were committed by courts in Wales and prisoners under sentence who were sentenced by courts in Wales.
	Young people are aged under 21 but include some 21-year-olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.
	As at 30 November 2003, there were 179 life sentence prisoners in prisons in England, who were sentenced from courts in Wales. Information is not held centrally on the number of life sentenced prisoners who have requested a transfer to prison in Wales.
	As at 30 November 2003, the population of young people in prison in England and Wales included 112 remand prisoners committed by courts in Wales, and 505 sentenced prisoners sentenced by courts in Wales.
	The number of male and female prisoners in prison in England, as at 30 November 2003, by offence group, who were committed or sentenced from courts in Wales is given in the tables.
	
		Remand prisoners in prison in England at 30November 2003, who were committed by courts in Wales by offence and sex
		
			  Female Male 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 10 21 
			 Sex offences 2 4 
			 Burglary 2 16 
			 Robbery 2 12 
			 Theft and handling 11 10 
			 Fraud and forgery 0 4 
			 Drug offences 3 19 
			 Other offences 6 16 
		
	
	
		Sentenced prisoners in prison in England at 30November 2003, who were sentenced by courts in Wales by offence and sex
		
			  Female Male 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 35 355 
			 Sex offences 1 192 
			 Burglary 9 186 
			 Robbery 21 142 
			 Theft and handling 21 73 
			 Fraud and forgery 6 13 
			 Drug offences 30 182 
			 Other offences 17 156 
			 Offence not recorded 0 3 
		
	
	The prison population, as at 30 November 2003, in each prison in Wales is given in the table.
	
		Prison population of prisons in Wales, 30November 2003
		
			  
		
		
			 Cardiff 661 
			 Pare 945 
			 Swansea 346 
			 Usk/Prescoed 397

Prisons

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) adult prisoners, (b) young offenders and (c) prison spaces there were in each prison in Wales for each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: The number of adults and young people in prison, and the operational capacity of each prison from June 1997 to June 2003, is given in the following tables.
	Young people are defined as those aged under 21 but include some 21-years-olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.
	
		Population of adult prisoners at end of June
		
			 Establishment 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Cardiff 576 618 581 519 616 644 682 
			 Swansea 252 266 245 230 187 361 360 
			 Usk/Prescoed 258 202 276 278 312 322 374 
			 Parc 0 450 534 468 558 477 543 
		
	
	
		Population of young people in prison at end of June
		
			 Establishment 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Cardiff 145 89 120 1 0 1 0 
			 Swansea 77 59 76 65 0 0 0 
			 Usk/Prescoed 49 23 16 17 17 9 10 
			 Parc 0 244 242 345 360 450 459 
		
	
	Population includes prisoners on authorised absence.
	
		Operational Capacity on the last Friday in June
		
			 Establishment 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Cardiff 716 716 722 707 638 669 669 
			 Swansea 350 326 346 346 201 366 368 
			 Usk 187 206 206 211 220 220 242 
			 Prescoed 128 128 128 128 128 128 170 
			 Parc 0 850 920 920 948 968 1,028 
		
	
	Parc prison opened in November 1997.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to whom the Ombudsman for Prisons and Probation will report the findings of his investigations into deaths of (a) prisoners, (b) probationers and (c) detainees in immigration removal centres.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 26 January 2004
	Details of the new arrangements have yet to be finalised. It is proposed that the Ombudsman will send his reports to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, the relevant Service, the family of the deceased, and the Coroner.

Probation Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evaluation his Department made of the restructuring of the Probation Service following its restructuring in April 2001.

Paul Goggins: The structural changes introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 2000 and implemented from April 2001 were managed as a change programme overseen by National Director (latterly the Director General) of the National Probation Service (NPS) based within the Home Office.
	The strategy for the change programme was set out in a three-year strategic document, "A New Choreography". The Office of Government Commerce independently reviewed the initial programme in October 2001. They commended the restructure and noted early performance improvements. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Probation has covered issues relevant to restructuring, such as governance, training and race equality, in recent reports.
	Service-wide performance improvements have continued and these are monitored in regular NPS performance reports.

Probation Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of offenders under the management of the Probation Service have been serviced by non-qualified probation personnel over the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is not held centrally.
	Offenders may be supervised by a variety of people who deliver both statutory and non-statutory interventions. These will include probation staff and others from partnership agencies. All probation staff who supervise offenders have been assessed and trained for this work. Probation officers and probation service officers have professional qualifications as do specialist staff, such as psychologists.

Probation Service

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation field staff were employed in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each year since 2000.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 29 January 2004
	The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			 Number of ProbationField Staff(31) , (32) 31 December 2000(33) 31 December 2001 31 December 2002 30 June 2003 
		
		
			  
			  
			 (a) Coventry 15 17 24 (34)31 
			 (b) West Midlands 541 774 645 706 
			 (c)England and Wales 8,462 9,665 (35)10,439 11,128 
		
	
	(31) Figures include Senior Probation Officers, Senior Practitioners, Probation Officers, Trainee Probation Officers and Probation Service Officers employed in all functions excluding Prisons and Courts.
	(32) Figures shown as full time equivalent (FTC)
	(33) The figures for December 2000 also exclude those employed within Family Court Welfare. This service transferred during 2001 into Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS).
	(34) Information provided by West Midlands Probation Area at 31 December 2003
	(35) Figures for December 2002 include Sussex figures at June 2002.

Probation Service

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on funding available for the provision of intensive services to offenders on release by the Probation Service.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 29 January 2004
	The National Probation Service (NPS) is funding or part funding 15 intensive supervision and monitoring schemes (ISMs) which aim to reduce reoffending by persistent offenders. ISMs operate as part of a community sentence or a post custodial licence. Funding was provided for two years by the NPS and the Criminal Justice System Reserve (CJS) which will expire in April 2004. After that areas are expected to have made their own arrangements to fund the projects locally. It is also expected that some continuation funding will be available from the CJS Reserve for an additional year.
	Persistent offenders are defined as those who are aged 18 or over and have been convicted of six or more recordable offences in the last year. ISM schemes target the most prolific offenders in a locality. These are the most serious of persistent offenders. Therefore, in addition to six convictions in the last year, those selected will also usually be the target of local police intelligence.
	ISM schemes provide intensive surveillance and supervision of offenders, offering fast access to services and support for rehabilitation, alongside swift action and penalties for non-compliance. They incorporate a partnership between police and probation, two agencies that have historically worked in different areas of criminal justice, through the joint aims of apprehending offenders at the same time as addressing offenders' needs. As part of these projects, the police and probation services also work together with other partner agencies such as: providers of housing, education and training, alcohol and drug abuse treatment groups, leisure facilities and employment services.
	The ISMs are subject to independent evaluation, which is due to report in spring 2004. A number of areas operate similar schemes to the probation funded ISMs. Plans to deal with persistent offenders will be included as part of the regional resettlement strategies which are to be developed over the next 12 months.

Public Bodies

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the members of the (a) Horserace Totalisator Board, (b) Service Authorities for the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad, (c) Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England and (d) Parole Board to the Prison Service were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and whether they are remunerated.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is set out in the table and lists the members of the following bodies on 1 January 2004, their term of office and whether they are remunerated. Excluded are data for (a) Horserace Totalisator Board as this body is now under the Department of Culture, Media and Sport's remit, and (b) Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England, which now falls under Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	
		
			 Body/Member Length of term Remunerated 
		
		
			 NCS Service Authority   
			 Paul Lever 2 years Yes 
			 Caroline Burton 2 years Yes 
			 Jennifer Harvey 2 years Yes 
			 Home Office representative 2 years No 
			 ACPO(36) representative 4 years No 
			 ACPO representative 4 years No 
			 APA(37)representative 4 years Yes 
			 APA representative 4 years Yes 
			 HMCE(38) representative 4 years No 
			
			 NCIS Service Authority   
			 Paul Lever 2 years Yes 
			 Caroline Burton 2 years Yes 
			 Jennifer Harvey 2 years Yes 
			 Home Office representative 2 years No 
			 ACPO representative 4 years No 
			 APA representative 4 years Yes 
			 HMCE representative 4 years No 
			 Head of Serious Crime, Security Service 4 years No 
			 Scottish representative 4 years No 
			 Northern Ireland representative 4 years No 
			
			 Parole Board   
			 Janet Lindsay Addyman 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Akintunde Akinkunmi 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Michael Alcock 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Kofi Appiah 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Ann Faith Barker 3 years Yes 
			 Claire Barkley 3 years Yes 
			 Fiona Barrie 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Arnold Barrow 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Peter Benson 3 years 3 months No 
			 Colin Berry 7 years 2 months Yes 
			 Inigo Bing 3 years 3 months No 
			 John Boal 3 years No 
			 Louise Bowers 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Sally A. R. Brady 3 years Yes 
			 David Brown 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Mark Brown 3 years 3 months No 
			 Penny Buller 9 years 3 months Yes 
			 Sir Alexander Butterfield 3 years No 
			 John Quentin Campbell 3 years No 
			 Margaret Carey 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Lawrence P. Chesterman 3 years Yes 
			 Barry Chipchase 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Tia Cockrell 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Jeremy Connor 6 years 2 months No 
			 Thomas Cook 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Allan Gerald Corless 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Graham W. A. Cottle 3 years 3 months No 
			 Keith Charles Cutler 3 years No 
			 Susan Lesley Davenport 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Jo C. Dobry 3 years Yes 
			 Paul Dodgson 3 years 3 months No 
			 Roland Doven 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Mark Dyer 3 years 3 months No 
			 Esmond Faulks 3 years 3 months No 
			 Mathew Fiander 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Peter Fingret 3 years 3 months No 
			 Giles Charles Forrester 3 years 3 months No 
			 Diana Fulbrook 3 years Yes 
			 William Gage 3 years No 
			 Jane Margaret Geraghty 3 years Yes 
			 Stephen M. J. Goode CBE 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 John Keith Harding CBE 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 W. Gareth Hawkesworth 3 years No 
			 Michael Philip Hennesse 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Debbie Hill 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Lesley Hilton 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Estelle J. Hindley 6 years 2 months No 
			 Julia Holman 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Trevor J. Hoyland 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Judith Caroline Hughes QC 3 years 3 months No 
			 C. Chris Hunter 3 years Yes 
			 Kyrie Llinos James 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Geoffrey Kamil 6 years 3 months No 
			 B. Mary Kane 9 years 3 months Yes 
			 Ardash Kaul 3 years Yes 
			 Andrew Keen 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Ian Keitch 8 years Yes 
			 Anwar William Khan 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Assia King 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Roy David King 3 years Yes 
			 Dora Kohen 6 years 1 month Yes 
			 Brenda P. M. Large 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Timothy Lawrence 6 years 2 months No 
			 Sarah Lightfoot 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Robin James Lipscombe 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Rachael Loveridge 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Kerry P. M. Macgill 3 years Yes 
			 Judith M. Mackenzie 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Robert B. Mathers 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 David Charles Mawson 3 years Yes 
			 Hamish McClelland 8 years 3 months Yes 
			 Linda E. McHugh 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 John Graeme McNaught 6 years 2 months No 
			 Christopher Metcalf 3 years 3 months No 
			 David Mole 3 years 3 months No 
			 Anne Molyneux 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Angela Montgomery 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Heather M. Morgan 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 David Wynn Morgan 3 years 3 months No 
			 Steven C. Murphy 3 years Yes 
			 David Mylan 3 years Yes 
			 D. E. Paul Nicholson 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Richard O'Flynn 3 years Yes 
			 Richard B. L. Osborn 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Tanya Ossack 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Sarah Page 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Peter Palmer 3 years Yes 
			 J. Graham Park CBE 8 years 3 months Yes 
			 Barbara Ann Parn 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Sylvia Peach 3 years Yes 
			 Anthony Pembrooke 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Judith Pitchers 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 David Philip Pugsley 6 years 2 months No 
			 Malcolm Rae 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Alistair John Reeve 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Steven Robbins 3 years No 
			 John Mervyn Roberts 3 years 3 months No 
			 Andrew F. Rutherford 3 years Yes 
			 John Sadlik 9 years 3 months Yes 
			 Gwyneth Ann Sampson 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Audrey O. H. Sander 6 years 3 months No 
			 Girish Chander Shetty 9 years 3 months Yes 
			 Alan Douglas Smith 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 James Spencer QC 3 years 3 months No 
			 John Wilfred Staples 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Nigel A. Stone 9 years 3 months Yes 
			 Margaret Stone 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Marion Swan 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Barbara Swyer 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Diana Tamlyn 7 years 1 month Yes 
			 Kay Christina Terry 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Anthony Thornton QC 3 years 3 months No 
			 Lynne D. Tolan 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Jo M. Turnbull 3 years Yes 
			 Susan Vivian-Byrne 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Helen Ward 3 years 3 months Yes 
			 Brian Watling QC 3 years 3 months No 
			 Mollie Jane Weatheritt 6 years Yes 
			 Tessa West 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Alan Keith Whiffen 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Richard G. Whitfield 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Peter Wilshaw 6 years 3 months Yes 
			 Simon Wood 6 years 2 months Yes 
			 Anne J. Worall 3 years Yes 
			 Yaa F. Yeboah 3 years 3 months Yes 
		
	
	(36) Association of Chief Police Officers.
	(37) Association of Police Authorities.
	(38) HM Customs and Excise.

Rehabilitation Programmes

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which rehabilitation programmes have been the most effective in reducing the reconviction rate; and what plans he has to extend these programmes to all prisons.

Paul Goggins: Prisoners are imprisoned for many different kinds of offences, ranging widely in character and seriousness. No one programme is likely to be effective in reducing re-offending on the part of all offenders. The Correctional Services Accreditation Panel accredits programmes which are based on the international evidence about what is likely to be effective in reducing re-offending. Cognitive skills programmes, sex offender treatment programmes, drug treatment programmes and therapeutic communities have all been accredited, as well as programmes designed to address violent offending and domestic violence specifically. These interventions are subject to ongoing evaluation, including research into their impact on reconviction rates.
	Over 100 prison establishments currently run accredited programmes and although the overall number is increasing there are no plans at present to extend them to every prison, as they are not suitable for all prisoners, particularly those serving short sentences. All prison establishments, however, are required to provide constructive regimes which address offending behaviour, improve educational and work skills and promote law abiding behaviour in custody and after release. Other activities which support rehabilitation and address prisoners' resettlement needs include learning and skills, prison work, involvement in pre-release programmes, housing advice and support services, Jobcentre Plus prison surgeries and job search training and support.
	The establishment of a new single National Offender Management Service will focus on reducing re-offending and equipping offenders to turn away from crime. Regional offender managers will, in the future, be responsible for commissioning offender management services and interventions to reduce re-offending.

Risk of Sexual Harm Orders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many risk of sexual harm orders have been issued.

Paul Goggins: The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which provided for the risk of sexual harm orders, is not due to come into force until May 2004. As a result no risk of sexual harm orders have yet been made.

Sentences

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on changes in sentence lengths since 1991.

Paul Goggins: Information on trends in sentencing is contained in chapter 4 of Criminal statistics, England and Wales, 2002 (Cm 6054) published in December 2003.

Sentences

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken to ensure consistency of sentencing practice.

Paul Goggins: The recent Criminal Justice Act 2003 created the Sentencing Guidelines Council. The purpose of the council is to produce robust and comprehensive sentencing guidelines. By providing an important bridge between what legislation provides and how that legislation is used, the guidelines will assist the courts in their task of effecting consistent and just disposals in all cases.

Sentences

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will ask the Sentencing Guidelines Council to consider reducing overall sentencing lengths for offences not involving violence, drugs or sexual matters.

Paul Goggins: It is the role of the Sentencing Guidelines Council to issue guidance on all aspects of sentencing so as to promote consistent and just sentencing by the courts within the framework provided by Parliament. The guidance will be issued following an evaluation period and will be proportionate in severity to the nature of the offence.
	It will be for the Council to make its proposals, and there will be opportunities for criminal justice professionals, the public and Parliament to make their views known to the Council. While no type of criminal behaviour can be condoned or minimised, the Home Secretary has made clear that custody should be reserved for serious offenders.

Serious Criminal Offenders (Travel)

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were charged with serious criminal offences and allowed to travel outside in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: This information is not held centrally.

Sex Abuse Guidelines

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when the updated guidelines on anonymity for those accused of historical sex abuse were sent to police forces;
	(2)  what the terms of guidelines on anonymity for those accused of historical sex abuse (a) were before and (b) are since recent amendments were put into effect.

Paul Goggins: The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has amended its guidelines to all police forces to give greater prominence to the rules that govern the release of information about anyone suspected of, but not yet charged with, an offence. The guidance underlines that suspects should not be named before charge and goes on to highlight the possible dangers of doing so, in that not only is there the risk of causing irreparable damage to a suspect's reputation, but also that unwarranted disclosure could leave a force open to civil proceedings. Updated guidance was sent to all police forces via the ACPO intranet in October 2003 and may be viewed on www.acpo.police.uk. We have asked that a copy of previous guidance be sent to my hon. Friend.

Speeding

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans for increases in fines for drivers caught speeding; and how the extra money raised will help victims of (a) crime and (b) road traffic accidents.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 21 January 2004
	I would refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 12 January 2004, Official Report, column 18WS. This announced the publication of a consultation paper entitled 'Compensation and Support for Victims of Crime', which set out proposals to provide a wide range of support for victims of crime and to amend the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
	A central plank of the proposals was to make all offenders pay for their crimes and to help all victims.
	One of the key proposals was to add a surcharge to all criminal convictions, and to fixed penalty notices for criminal offences. The surcharge would be additional to the fine or any other penalty imposed, and would be payable by those who were convicted of a criminal offence, those who receive a penalty notice for disorder, and those who receive a fixed penalty notice for a road traffic offence, including drivers breaking the law by speeding.
	The money raised through the surcharge would go into a new Victims' Fund, as would monies raised in the other ways described in the consultation paper. The money from that fund would be spent directly on services for victims of crime including, for example, victims of rape and sexual assault, victims of domestic violence and hate crime, and the many seriously injured victims of road traffic incidents and the bereaved relatives of victims.
	We welcome comment on all the ideas and proposals set out in the consultation paper. Subject to the outcome of this consultation exercise, we propose to legislate to make the changes, where necessary, through amendments to the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill currently before Parliament.

Wetherby Young Offenders Institution

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 14 January 2004, Official Report, column 762W, on HMYOI Wetherby, what the reasons were for the increase in (a) costs per prisoner and (b) cost per prisoner place at HMYOI Wetherby.

Paul Goggins: Baseline funding for HMYOI Wetherby has risen from £6.7 million in 1998–99 to £10.2 million in 2002–03. The change from cash to resource based accounting over this period reflects part of this increase, but the major structural and regime changes at HMYOI Wetherby following its re-role to a juvenile only establishment have been the main reason for increased funding. This increase has led to a greatly improved regime generating improved numeracy and literacy among prisoners, better opportunities for training and employment, increased employability through practical and vocational activities and the addressing of offending behaviour issues.

Women Prisoners

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women prisoners there are; and how many are imprisoned for offences relating to drugs.

Paul Goggins: The number of females in prison in England and Wales on 30 January 2004 was 4,378.
	At the end of May 2003 (the most recent published data covering the detail required to answer the question) there were 176 females on remand for drugs offences and 1,318 females under sentence for drugs offences, out of a total female population of 4,495.